An agricultural entrepreneur promotes a bottle of cooking oil during her livestream at the contest's launch ceremony on Aug 5. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

East China's Zhejiang province launched a commercial livestreaming contest for the province's agricultural entrepreneurs who have been promoting their products via live broadcasts on Aug 5.

This unprecedented competition, which will last for two months, is aimed at encouraging more farmers to use livestreaming as a marketing channel for their products. Organizers include the Zhejiang provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs and the Zhejiang branch of the Agricultural Bank of China.

The preliminary contest will send 80 winners to participate in a training program for commercial livestreamers. They will undergo multiple rounds of elimination, until 10 finalists are awarded a large sum of money to fund their businesses.

"We have seized upon opportunities presented by short-video livestreaming," said Ma Gongzuo, a guest speaker, at the contest's launch ceremony. After graduating from university, Ma returned to his home village and became a beekeeper, a rare career choice for a college graduate in China.

In 2018, Ma and his colleagues began documenting their bee-raising experiences through short-video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. His Douyin account, which has so far amassed over 5 million followers, lead to an annual sale of over 50,000 kilograms of honey, bringing in a total of 4.3-million-yuan ($617,000) in income for 130 local beekeepers and even leading a surge in tourists to the village. Ma has been awarded a series of honors by the provincial government for his contribution to the local economy.