Villagers in Fengdu, Chongqing, China begin buying fertilizer and seeds for spring sowing

“The Start of Spring falls in early next month. Buying fertilizer and seeds early and bringing them home can, first, help avoid price increases, and second, get everything ready for spring sowing, laying a foundation for a bumper harvest of this year's main-season grain.” On January 12, when the author visited some agricultural supply stores and seed shops in Fengdu County, many villagers buying seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural supplies said the same thing.

At a seed shop on Binjiang Road in the county seat, the owner told the author that since New Year's Day, villagers had been coming to the shop to buy seeds for main-season grain crops such as corn and rice, as well as vegetable seeds such as cucumber, green beans and cowpea.

“Although it is still a bit early, three to five villagers come every day to buy grain or vegetable seeds. Based on experience from previous years, the seed market usually only hits its peak one or two weeks after the Start of Spring,” the owner said.

At a fertilizer sales outlet at the freight dock in Gaojia Town, business, which had been quiet for more than two months, finally picked up again. According to the fertilizer shop owner, in recent days villagers buying urea, ammonium bicarbonate, compound fertilizer and superphosphate had each been purchasing several hundred jin at a time, which clearly showed they were preparing fertilizer for main-season crops.

“The main worry is that fertilizer prices will rise after the Start of Spring, so I buy it now while farm work is slack and keep it at home. Besides, once the Start of Spring passes, there will be more farm work, so it is easier to focus time and energy on spring plowing and preparation,” said Qin Daxiu, a villager from Wenxi Village. In recent days, after selling vegetables in town, she would each time use her manual tricycle to carry a bag of fertilizer home along the way.

Agricultural film, one of the main farming supplies for spring plowing, has also begun to see a “warm-up” in sales these days. The author visited several shops selling agricultural film and learned that, compared with before December last year, sales are gradually increasing.

It is understood that, in preparation for spring plowing, the county's relevant functional departments have already made arrangements for the stockpiling and market supply of agricultural supplies. In particular, the industry and commerce department will step up efforts to crack down on fake seeds, fake fertilizer and fake pesticides, and effectively maintain market order.