How summer grain achieves another bumper harvest in a year of major floods

At present, the national summer grain harvest is basically over. Although there were some periodic adverse factors in agro-meteorological conditions this year, total summer grain output can still reach 280 billion jin, and overall it is still a bumper harvest year. Since the start of the flood season this year, China's flood situation has been relatively severe. How did summer grain achieve another bumper harvest in a year of major floods?

Data from the Ministry of Agriculture show that this year's sown area for summer grain remained stable, with summer grain area expected at 414 million mu, including 339 million mu of winter wheat, both basically flat from the previous year. The "three factors" making up winter wheat yield showed a pattern of "one decrease and two increases," with the number of ears per mu decreasing and both the number of grains per ear and the 1000-grain weight increasing.

Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said that achieving another bumper harvest of summer grain this year on the basis of last year's relatively large increase was truly not easy. Facing complex and changeable climatic conditions, summer grain was able to continue to maintain a bumper harvest mainly thanks to four driving factors.

First, policy support was strong. The minimum purchase price policy for wheat continued to be implemented and the price remained stable, and 1.5 billion yuan in subsidy funds for wheat "one spray and three preventions" continued to be allocated, stabilizing farmers' enthusiasm for production. Second, facilities improved. In recent years the state has continuously strengthened agricultural infrastructure construction, building high-standard farmland that guarantees harvests despite drought or flood and is high-yielding and stable-yielding, improving disaster resistance. Third, science and technology were in place. In particular, integrated high-yield and high-efficiency cultivation techniques for wheat production were promoted over a large area, and the level of science and technology steadily improved. Fourth, disaster resistance was effective. Integrated and concentrated promotion was carried out for proactive disaster-avoidance techniques such as deep loosening and land preparation, precision sowing, post-sowing compaction, and "one spray and three preventions." Unified prevention and control of pests and diseases was vigorously carried out, with timely prevention and control and remarkable results.

It is understood that summer grain production this year showed three notable characteristics: First, the regional layout became more concentrated. Further formed were the strong-gluten wheat advantage zone in northern Huang-Huai, the weak-gluten wheat advantage zone in Jiangsu's Lixiahe and coastal areas, and the medium-gluten wheat advantage zone in northern Jianghuai and most of Huang-Huai. Second, the proportion of special-purpose varieties increased. The area share of strong-gluten wheat, for which market demand is large, reached 23.5%, 1.5 percentage points higher than the previous year. Third, cost savings and efficiency gains were notable. In North China, Northwest China and other places, more than 10 million mu of water-saving wheat varieties were promoted, an increase of more than 7 million mu over the previous year. In the groundwater funnel area of Hebei, more than 1 million mu of winter wheat with high water use was reduced. Various places also integrated and promoted techniques such as fertilizer-saving and pesticide-saving measures to promote cost savings and efficiency gains.

"Once summer harvest is in hand, autumn harvest is the big part." Han Changfu introduced that, judging from the current situation, spring-sown crops are growing well and summer sowing is proceeding smoothly. But it must be clearly seen that grain production in the second half of the year will still be affected by two unfavorable circumstances. First, affected by the super strong El Nino, natural disasters may occur frequently; second, affected by agricultural product prices, especially grain prices, the growth rate of farmers' incomes may decline.

The Ministry of Agriculture required all localities to closely focus on the main line of work of "improving quality and efficiency, transforming the development model, stabilizing grain and increasing income sustainably," highlight key points, solve difficult points, step up promotion, reduce disaster impacts and losses, focus on implementing the central government's various support policies, strengthen technical guidance services, do a good job in linking market production and sales, ensure farmers' interests are not harmed, ensure that area can be adjusted and stabilized, and strive to achieve the goal of stabilizing grain and increasing income for the whole year.