Summer harvest season begins across China as farmers reap bountiful crops

At present, the summer harvest season has begun or is about to begin in major summer grain production bases across China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) said.

Aerial photo shows farmers harvesting wheat in the fields in Huozhuang Village of Wuhe County, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2022. (Photo/Xinhua)

This year, the planting area for winter wheat in China stands at more than 330 million mu (22 million hectares). Currently, more than 90 percent of the grain in southwest China has been harvested, while the harvesting of grain in central China’s Hubei Province and east China’s Anhui Province has also started. Meanwhile, the grain in north China is about to mature in the days ahead.

“Thanks to the favorable weather conditions, this year I expect a bumper harvest of summer grain,” said Huo Jiaxian, a farmer from Bengbu city, Anhui. Huo said that the 12 mu of wheat that he grew has basically been harvested.

This year, farming machinery maintenance workers were invited to Huo’s fields to offer machine repair and maintenance services, guaranteeing that the grain would be harvested in a timely manner, the man said.

An official from the Anhui Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that this year, the wheat planting area in the province has reached 42.8 million mu, with the total yield of wheat in the province expected to hit a new high.

By the end of May, when the wheat harvest in the province kicks off, 200,000 combine harvesters will be employed in an effort to finish reaping the wheat in about 10 days, said the official.

More than 97 percent of wheat harvesting is done using machines in China, and 30 percent uses cross-regional mechanical harvesting. Recently, the agriculture and rural affairs departments at various levels have been working to make harvesters easily available for employment in their localities. As of now, it has been confirmed that harvesters will be employed to reap over 80 percent of the wheat fields nationwide.

According to the MARA, a total of over 600,000 combine harvesters will be deployed to harvest the wheat this year.