County in SW China's Guizhou thrives as nation's rice seed hub

Photo shows paddy fields in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Rows of green paddies stretch toward the horizon in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province, where farmers are entering a critical stage of rice seed production.

Drones buzz overhead, spraying pesticides across the fields in what has become a familiar scene during this busy season.

Cengong is the only national-level rice seed production county in Guizhou. In Mozhai village, Siyang town, farmer Yao Tao checks the growth of seedlings and keeps a close watch for pests and diseases.

Yao, a major local producer, has contracted 200 mu (13.33 hectares) of land for seed cultivation. Last year his fields yielded 175 kilograms per mu for a total output of 19,000 kilograms, and he expects an even better harvest this year.

The rice seed industry has become a pillar industry in the county, which has built a full production chain covering seedling cultivation, digital monitoring, drying and processing.

In 2025, the county's seed-growing area reached 42,300 mu, generating an output value of 260 million yuan ($38.2 million) — more than 60 percent of the provincial total. The county supplied seeds for 9.34 million mu of paddy fields and raised incomes for over 18,000 farming households.

Aerial photo shows paddy fields in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Aerial photo shows paddy fields in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

A farmer operates a drone to spray pesticides in a paddy field in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

A drone sprays pesticides over a paddy field in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Photo shows a hybrid rice seed production demonstration zone in Zhouping, Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Photo shows a paddy field in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Photo shows a hybrid rice seed production demonstration zone in Zhouping, Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Rice seedlings thrive in Siyang town, Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

A farmer checks on the growth of rice seedlings in Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)

Rice seedlings thrive in Siyang town, Cengong county, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian)