Goats are claimed by warmhearted entrepreneurs in Qidong to help reduce farms' losses that have been brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

In order to solve problems for the suffering agricultural products' market that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, Qidong – a county-level city administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – launched an online sales campaign to ease the financial burdens of local farmers by helping them sell agricultural products.

Carried out by a Qidong government department and a local association, the campaign aims to improve the weakness of the original agricultural products' marketing strategy and boost rural vitalization with the help of social internet organizations, key websites, internet celebrities and netizens.

A series of actions were taken this year, including building online platforms, publishing information for companies and farmers in need, promoting agricultural products online.

Entrepreneurs and volunteers were also called on to help farmers boost their incomes.

In May, Qidong organized a group of entrepreneurs to adopt unsalable sheep from farms, thus reducing their losses caused by COVID-19.

To date, the campaign has helped agricultural enterprises and big farming households sell over 500 goats and over 100 metric tons of vegetables, which has so far amounted to nearly 1 million yuan ($148,200) in total profit.

Moving forward, Qidong will further encourage more people to participate in the campaign and develop new supporting modes to promote the prosperous development of the agricultural market.