context: President Xi’s visit to northeastern China shows the state’s commitment to food security amid the pandemic and natural disasters. Black soil protection and farmers’ cooperative are highlighted.
President Xi Jinping 习近平 inspected Jilin Province on 22 July, where he visited one major corn production base and an ag machinery service cooperative.
One of the major food-producing provinces, Jilin harvested 39 million tonnes of grain in 2019, with the state's highest y-o-y growth, reported Ta Kung Pao. Xi's inspection delivered an important message as the state strives to ensure food security. He spoke highly of the local practices of 'returning straw to the field' and ‘no-tillage’ planting, which effectively protect black soil erosion and preserve soil moisture. He also encouraged farmers to participate in cooperatives, calling for more efforts on further developing specialised cooperatives.
Following its action plan on black soil conservation tillage, MARA (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs) issued 'Notice on northwestern black soil protection' in June 2020. Promoting black soil protection in 32 counties (9 in Jilin), the annual goals of the pilots include
- improving farmland soil quality by over 0.5 grade
- achieving over 25 cm in cultivated layer thickness
- increasing the proportion of organic matter by over 3 percent
Technical solutions are suggested for regions with different natural conditions.