Nearly half of Xinjiang's arable land developed into high-standard farmland

URUMQI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had built 50.03 million mu (about 3.34 million hectares) of high-standard farmland by the end of 2022, accounting for 47.39 percent of its arable land, local authorities said.

Last year, Xinjiang allocated 2.07 billion yuan (about 297.88 million U.S. dollars) to subsidize the construction of high-standard farmland and built 7.15 million mu of high-standard farmland. It significantly improved the quality of cultivated land and increased grain production capacity by 10 to 20 percent, said the regional department of agriculture and rural affairs.

The region will build 4.15 million mu, upgrade 1.35 million mu of high-standard farmland, and gradually turn all its permanent basic farmland into high-quality farmland in 2023.

In 2022, Xinjiang's total grain output increased for seven consecutive years. Its per capita share of grain reached 700 kg, 44 percentage points higher than the national average, according to the regional department of agriculture and rural affairs.