The land was flooded by the Yellow River, China's second longest, in the 1930s due to war and became unsuitable for farming because of high soil salinity.
"We can get real-time data and analysis of the salinity of seawater, the amount of plankton and others," said Wang Lixin, manager of the company.
However, the district has not been a productive area for crops, because its soil has a high level of salinity as a result of coastal erosion and saltwater saturation.
Xu, 55, has cultivated soybean varieties for more than three decades, spending 10 years producing the Qihuang 34 variety, which can be grown on soil with a relatively low level of salinity, and on ordinary soil.
"This year in Kenli, the company has planted 733 hectares with Qihuang 34 soybeans on land with a low level of salinity.
Xu and his team are working to cultivate varieties that perform well in soil with a high level of salinity.
"According to State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture, published by the FAO last year, more than 1,100 million hectares of soil are affected by salinity and sodicity (which degrades soil properties), Watson said.
The ship's smart technology can control temperature and salinity in the pools where the fish are growing.