In the vibrant autumn of October, the Jingyi Qianmu modern farmland in the Liling district of Yongzhou, Hunan Province, is bustling with activity as tractors prepare the soil for planting.
“We plan to cultivate 630 acres of vegetables this fall and winter to supply the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao,” said Zheng Ruowen, a leading farmer in the area. “So far, we’ve already tilled and prepared over 320 acres, and we expect large-scale planting to begin in late October.”
Since the start of autumn, the Liling district has prioritized fall and winter planting as a crucial agricultural focus. The local strategy includes collaboration among large-scale farmers, collective farming, and unified seed selection to enhance the cultivation of primary crops such as rapeseed and vegetables.
In Dandi Township, farmers are actively engaged in planting rapeseed and vegetables, employing over ten tractors and involving hundreds of villagers in the soil preparation process, with large-scale farmers contributing to over 70% of the planting efforts. Meanwhile, in the innovative Fu Tian fields in You Ting Wei Town, community members are busy fertilizing and sowing seeds. They have already planted 2,600 acres of various vegetables, prepared over 5,000 acres for rapeseed, and nurtured over 100 acres of seedlings.
Currently, 15 rural towns and streets across the Liling district have established leadership teams for fall and winter planting, deploying more than 600 village-based officials and agricultural experts to assist farmers with specific planting challenges.
At this moment, more than 360 cooperative farmers are working diligently on the front lines of crop production, having secured a planting area for fall and winter crops totaling 445,600 acres. This includes 242,000 acres of rapeseed and 140,000 acres of vegetables, marking growth of over 5% and 8%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
In recent years, Liling has invested in the development of over 400,000 acres of high-standard farmland, constructing 148 tractor paths, 129 irrigation channels, and 32 drainage systems. They have also established 30,000 acres of efficient water-saving farmland and more than 20,000 acres of modern basic farmland, achieving over 85% mechanization in rice field tilling, thereby laying the groundwork for successful fall and winter planting.