Farmers weather adversity to reap record grain harvests

Farmers gather freshly harvested pomelos in Rongshui, a county in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Nov 2, 2024. (LONG TAO/XINHUA)

Harvesting is almost done in the major Chinese agricultural provinces of Heilongjiang, Henan, and Shandong, with a bumper grain crop expected, despite extreme weather this year that caused multiple natural disasters.

China's grain output is projected to hit a record high of 700 million metric tons this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Oct 25.

The anticipated milestone harvest follows nine consecutive years of maintaining grain output above 650 million tons, the ministry said at a news conference.

As of Thursday, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, the country's top grain producer, had harvested more than 90 percent of its crops, or 14.7 million hectares of its planting area, according to the provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs.

The grain harvest included 3.4 million hectares of rice, 6 million hectares of corn, and 4.9 million hectares of soybeans. Meanwhile, the harvesting of 80,000 hectares of miscellaneous grains and beans has been completed.

Heilongjiang experienced a cold spell and lingering rain from June to July this year, which hindered the growth of crops in many parts of the province.

Han Zhimin, who leads a grain-planting cooperative in Yilan county, in the provincial capital Harbin, said his cooperative planted 2,000 hectares of corn and soybean this year. Advanced farming techniques and modern agricultural practices helped him cope with the disaster, while crop insurance saved him from financial worries.

"We have hired a full-time agronomist, and used new technology and professional management to increase the soybean planting density while enhancing the crop quality," said Han, adding that the cooperative had spent more than 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in the past 10 years on purchasing modern farming machinery such as high-powered tractors, harvesters and high-speed precision planters.

From January to August, Heilongjiang had 11.4 million hectares of grain growing area covered by crop insurance, up 4.27 percent year-on-year, with the insurance coverage rate in the province standing at 77.7 percent, according to data from the Heilongjiang branch of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

The province also leads the country in establishing more than 7.3 million hectares of high-standard farmland. This farmland is characterized by well-leveled, contiguous plots with advanced irrigation, efficient water use, and enhanced soil fertility. Designed to withstand both droughts and floods, it aligns with modern agricultural practices and features chemical-free soils and high yields.

The province's grain output reached 77.88 million tons in 2023, extending its hold on the No. 1 ranking in China for 14 consecutive years.

Nature wreaks havoc

Farmers overcame various disasters to achieve the grain harvest, as the country grappled with extreme weather events occurring with increasing frequency this year, featuring both relentless heat and heavy downpours.

They attribute the hard-earned bumper harvest to the combined effects of the authorities' swift response to disaster relief, the continuous development of high-standard farmland, the promotion of modern and even smart farming methods, and the timely payment of agricultural insurance.

Zhao Zhidong, a farmer in Zhecheng county in central China's Henan province, said that his 13 hectares of farmland suffered from severe drought in June. He hurried to hire more than 10 people to pump water round-the-clock into the field to rescue the corn seedlings.

In the middle of July, the same field was subjected to continuous heavy downpours, and Zhao had to hire people to do drainage work. Under the coordination work of the local authority, they dug a channel to direct the rainwater into nearby rivers.

Half of the annual precipitation occurred during just three days of extreme rainfall that month. The average precipitation in Zhecheng reached 397 mm from July 15 to 18, while the county's annual precipitation over the past 30 years averaged 767 mm, according to the county's meteorological service.

Zhao has since harvested his corn, and the field's per-unit yield is 25 percent less than that of a normal year. However, he is satisfied with the result after the difficulties encountered this year.

In addition, local authorities helped farmers rebuild irrigation and drainage infrastructure following the disasters.

The heavy rainfall resulted in crop failures in nearby Tanghe county, Henan. After the floodwaters receded, however, agricultural experts guided farmers in replanting mung beans, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and other cash crops to compensate for their losses.

Qiao Zhenqun, who lost 6.7 hectares of his 133.3-hectare corn harvest this year, said the replanting was successful.

The income from mung beans and sweet potatoes is expected to be slightly higher than that from corn, based on current market prices.

Data from the Henan investigation group of the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Henan reaped a total summer grain output of 37.9 million tons, 6.64 percent higher than that of last year, safeguarding the province's role as the country's second-largest grain producer.

Although its autumn grain fields suffered losses, harvesting of 5.1 million hectares of crops will soon be completed. Henan's annual grain output is expected to remain stable at more than 65 million tons.

In central Hunan province, Zhang Shunda, a veteran grain grower in Taoyuan county, in Changde, has been busy harvesting rice grown on his 40 hectares of land. Estimating a harvest of more than 300 tons of rice, the farmer let out a sigh of relief.

It was a hard year for rice farmers in Hunan, as the province experienced a snowstorm at the beginning of the year and severe floods in summer.

"All three of my rice seedling greenhouses were toppled by the snowstorm in February, and 40 hectares of early rice was inundated by floods in June," said Zhang.

The heavy rainfall caused severe damage to early rice growth in Taoyuan, the top grain-growing county in Hunan. Local authorities promptly took measures to help farmers overcome the disaster.

Zhang said technicians dispatched by the county and township governments visited him to investigate the damage after the snowstorm and guided him on rebuilding and heating his warehouse. He received 80,000 yuan in disaster relief subsidies and more than 300,000 yuan in policy subsidies for rice planting.

According to Hunan's Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, grain production in the province remained sound this year. The harvesting of more than 1.5 million hectares of mid-season rice in the province has been completed, with an estimated year-on-year yield increase of about 1 percent. Harvesting is nearing completion on more than 1.3 million hectares of late rice fields, which can expect a year-on-year yield increase of 1.5 percent.

A farmer dries persimmons in Handan, Hebei province, on Oct 28. (HAO QUNYING/XINHUA)

Planting for next year

In late October, bustling construction of wells, dredging of waterways and deep plowing of land were in progress in Bandi town of Dingtao district in Heze, Shandong.

"These wells are equipped with pumps. The water pumped from the wells will be transported to farmers' fields through underground pipelines, which will substantially enhance irrigation efficiency," said Pan Luhua, a publicity officer in the town.

In the fields adjacent to the wells, Li Guangli is plowing 6.7 hectares of his farmland in preparation for replanting wheat. Li plans to plant over 33 hectares of wheat and corn in total. Each year, after harvesting his corn in early October, he grows wheat on the same farmland. This year, he noticed some wheat seedlings were growing slowly, so he decided to replant the crop.

"Just after I planted the wheat, there was heavy rain in mid-October which caused the soil to clump, hindering the wheat's growth. So, I am deeply plowing the land to replant, ensuring a bountiful harvest of wheat next year," said Li.

"After the corn harvest, the town government arranged for tractors to deeply plow our land, laying the groundwork for sowing the wheat," he said.

Dingtao district provided free deep plowing for over 2,666 hectares of farmland after the corn harvest in October to create a favorable soil environment for planting winter wheat.

Li said advances in technology have also boosted harvests.

With support from a local government agricultural subsidy, Li bought a new machine equipped with a Beidou navigation system to help plant wheat this year.

Qi Xin contributed to this story.

Villagers harvest rice in Tengchong, Yunnan province, on Oct 27. (GONG ZUJIN/XINHUA)