The Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China harvested 917 million kg of grain and 38 million kg of rape-seed in 1999, an increase of 7.9 and 10.5 percent, respectively, from the previous year, a regional agricultural department official said January 7.

The official attributed the good harvest to the improvement of low-yield farmland, the spread of modern agricultural techniques, the application of improved crop strains, and the increase of multiple cropping areas.

To improve agricultural production, the regional government allocated 400 million yuan annually in the past few years, the official said.

So far, Tibet has set up 27 commodity grain production bases with a combined area accounting for 60 percent of the region's total farmland, producing 560,000 tons of grain and oilseeds a year, 64 percent of the region's total.

Ten years ago, the region had to import 150 million kg of grain from other parts of China annually. But at present, Tibet boasts surplus grain capable of meeting local needs for five years.

In northwest China, Gansu Province reported a grain harvest of 8.1 billion kg in 1999, the third-highest output in its history. This resulted from a change in the crop mix and the spread of new techniques.