Today marks the Mang Zhong, or “Grain in Ear” in English, a traditional Chinese solar term that signifies the ripening of crops, and a busy time for farmers. We zoom in on China’s only tropical province of Hainan, which is looking to achieve high-efficiency agriculture in conditions not experienced elsewhere in the country. The province is increasing investment in mechanisation and smart technology to increase rice production. LIN WO has the story from Hainan.

Farmers in Hainan have been busy harvesting and drying rice. Hainan’s grain planting area amounts to about 144,000 hectares, with about 80 per cent devoted to rice. By the end of May, about one-third of the rice crop had been harvested.

BAI FENGZHEN Co-founder Hainan Wutianjia Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. “We expanded the planting area through made-to-order farming and transferring management of large areas of land to the professional agricultural cooperative, which has also improved farmers’ enthusiasm for grain planting.”

This year, Hainan received 29.5 million yuan of subsidies from the Chinese central government and almost six million yuan from the provincial government for mechanisation to improve production. Meanwhile, 10 cities and counties, such as Haikou, Sanya and Wenchang have promoted the use of photovoltaic-controlled irrigation technology. More than 80 5G intelligent irrigation projects have been built, benefiting more than 6,000 hectares of land.

LI PENG Chief Agronomist Hainan Provincial Department of Agriculture & Rural Affairs “We will continue to strengthen staff training for agricultural production, and formulate policies to attract more personnel and more investment.”

Farming and production in Hainan will be further helped by the proposed Sanya Southern Breeding Mechanized Scientific Research Center and the Danzhou International Research and Development Center for Tropical Crops and Agricultural Mechanization. They will focus on key agricultural processes and mechanization technologies.

LINWO, Sansha Satellite TV in Hainan for CGTN.

Published Date: June 7, 2023