Crop Production Workers

How to become a Horticultural Worker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 园艺工

Also called: Vegetable Grower, Flower Grower, Fruit Tree and Mulberry Grower, Tea Grower

Improves and prepares soil and plants and harvests vegetables, fruit, flowers and other horticultural crops with farm machinery, tools and facilities.

Main tasks

Turning, levelling and enriching soil with tillage machinery
Selecting, disinfecting, soaking and turning seed with nursery equipment and raising seedlings
Sowing and transplanting by machine or by hand
Watering and fertilising with irrigation and spraying equipment
Controlling light, temperature and humidity with ventilation, shade and temperature control systems
Cultivating and weeding with machinery or pruning and grafting by hand
Pollinating and spraying with pollinators and sprayers
Harvesting flowers, fruit, leaves and other produce by machine or by hand
Washing, trimming, grading and packing produce by machine or by hand
Maintaining machinery and facilities

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Green Food Production Technology (410115). Vocational major 410115 Green Food Production Technology (绿色食品生产技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Family Farm Grain Production and Business; Food Inspection Management; Agricultural Products E-commerce Operations.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Horticultural Technology (610105). Vocational major 610105 Horticultural Technology (园艺技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Protected Vegetable Production; Agricultural Products E-commerce Operations.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Protected Agriculture Production Technology (610112). Vocational major 610112 Protected Agriculture Production Technology (设施农业生产技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Protected Vegetable Production; Family Farm Grain Production and Business; Grain and Agricultural Food Safety Assessment.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥41,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥31,500 to CN¥53,600. One in ten earn less than CN¥26,000 and one in ten more than CN¥71,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Agricultural Production Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Agricultural Production Workers holds 18.04% of everyone employed in China; 47.5% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
12.8% are under 35, 42.1% are 35 to 54 and 45.1% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 50 to 54.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Horticultural Worker?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Green Food Production Technology (410115); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Horticultural Technology (610105).

How much does a Horticultural Worker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥41,000 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Agricultural Production Workers.

Will AI change the work of a Horticultural Worker?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026