Race against rain saves wheat harvest in central China

WUHAN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Wheat fields across Xiangyang in central China's Hubei Province largely fell silent early Friday morning, days after thousands of harvesting machines arrived from across China to save crops threatened by destructive rainstorms.

A barrage of downpours has lashed central and southern China since last week, causing deadly floods while also posing a risk to the ongoing summer harvest, a situation closely watched as conflicts in the Middle East heighten concerns about global food security.

"The continuous rainy weather has made me worried that the wheat -- if soaked in rainwater for too long -- would get moldy or sprout," said Wang Jincheng, the Party chief of Ligou Village, Niushou Town in Xiangyang City. "But now that the harvest is done, the grains are quite plump, and I feel much more at ease."

Xiangyang is a major wheat-producing region in China, with more than 330,000 hectares of wheat planted each year. During the summer harvest season, the city serves as the first stop for many machine operators who travel across the country to harvest wheat.

This year, the pace of the harvest was particularly intense. The persistent rainy weather, which came earlier than usual, upended the original summer harvest schedule, leaving local farmers with fewer than three days to secure the harvest.

Machine operators from provinces of Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan and Qinghai rushed to Xiangyang to help meet the deadline. Authorities said more than 4,200 harvest machines have arrived, joining nearly 27,000 local machines to work around the clock in the fields.

On China's social media, videos showing thousands of harvesters urgently traveling to Xiangyang quickly went viral. In one clip, long convoys of harvesters could be seen traveling along highways across several provinces to Hubei.

NATIONAL MOBILIZATION

To harvest more than 20 million hectares of wheat within 20-plus days, China plans to mobilize more than 800,000 combine harvesters, including over 200,000 participating in cross-regional operations, for this summer harvest season.

Qi Zhaojun, a machine operator from Qinghai, which is more than 1,300 km away from Xiangyang, has visited Xiangyang for summer harvest every May since 2015. After hearing about the impending rain, Qi arrived a few days earlier than usual. As soon as he reached the town, he agreed on doing the night shift for the rushed harvest.

"This is crucial for farmers to safeguard their seasonal yield," Qi said. Many operators worked in two shifts, keeping the machines running while taking turns to rest, he added.

Guo Tao, a machine operator from Sichuan Province, packed his tools after hearing news of the rain and hurried to Xiangyang overnight.

"Compared with previous years, there has been more rain and less time this year. Some wheat has also bent downwards, making harvesting harder. Sometimes I worked until 11 p.m. or even 1 or 2 a.m.," Guo said.

To improve efficiency, local authorities have exempted tolls for the coming helpers and set up green channels at highway exits to prioritize their passage. Nationwide, traffic authorities have opened over 5,500 such highway green channels for the travelling harvesters.

Transportation, public security and agricultural departments also set up service stations at Xiangyang's highway exits, offering free weather updates, machine repairs and other services, while matching machines with farms in need.

"Right after we exited the highway, staff guided us to villages in need, and we quickly found fields to harvest," Guo said. During breaks, many grateful farmers brought food and drinks, which made him feel especially welcome.

Across Xiangyang, government offices were turned into resupply stations to help out-of-town machine operators, and 68 work groups consisting of officials at the city and county levels have been sent to the fields to assist with harvest.

Power supply workers set up mobile emergency lights to illuminate the night harvest. A local business owner opened up unused factory space, prepared beds and a kitchen, and offered free food and lodging to those operators. Repair technicians stood by at field crossings with tools, ready to fix any breakdowns.

Over the years, Qi has found temporary shelters at the Huanglong police station during the harvest season. After work, he would park his harvester there and set up his stove to cook.

"I feel at home here, and this year, I received a warm gift bag with local beef noodles, snacks, bottled water and toilet paper," Qi said.

"Every harvester that arrives helps farmers save time," said Yang Daohua, deputy director of the agriculture and rural affairs bureau in Xiangyang.

Thanks to their concerted efforts, Yang said over 90 percent of Xiangyang's wheat has been harvested, and the remaining work is expected to be finished by the end of May. Most of the visiting harvesters have left Xiangyang to assist with farm work elsewhere.