Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about grain production, the protection and use of black soil at a demonstration zone for green food production in Lishu County of Siping City, northeast China's Jilin Province, July 22, 2020. Xi Jinping inspected Jilin Province on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Wednesday stressed that effective measures must be taken to protect black soil.

Xi was visiting a demonstration zone for green food production in Lishu County, Siping City to learn about the improvement of chernozem soil quality and the growth of corn during an inspection tour in northeast China's Jilin Province.

Northeast China, one of the world's three major chernozem regions, is a major area for maize and soybean farming where black soil produces high yields but declining soil fertility remains a problem, he noted.

The local practice of returning maize straw to the farmland for mulching purposes not only increases soil organic matter but also helps prevent wind- and water-driven soil erosion and preserve soil moisture, Xi said, adding that such a model is worth promoting.