Shandong province enjoys bumper rice harvest

It's September and the farmers have got into high gear with the arrival of rice harvest time in Zhengying township, in Juancheng county – located in Heze city in East China's Shandong province.

One of them, Yu Gaogen, started cultivating cash crops like rapeseed, garlic, corn, soybeans and rice back in 2018. However, the initial rice yield then was only slightly over 100 kilograms per mu (0.07 hectare).

After tapping into some specialist agricultural know-how and getting advice from other farmers, Yu turned his rice crop around, resulting in a yield of over 500 kg per mu.

A happy farmhand holds some fine, ripe rice in her hands. [Photo by Liu Yongxia for chinadaily.com.cn]

During the rice harvest season, the beautiful golden rice spikes, filled with grain gently sway in the autumn breeze. The fragrance of the harvest fills the air as Yu Gaogen and his team work tirelessly to bring in the crop.

His rice is popular for its early availability and exceptional quality, with many advance orders. Thanks to subsidies and sales assistance being offered by the local government, Yu is set to expand his planting area next year.

Overall, this year's bumper rice harvest has significantly increased the incomes of the farmers, galvanized their enthusiasm for work and laid a solid foundation for sustainable agricultural development.

Moving forwards, plans are for Juancheng county to accelerate its agrarian transformation and upgrading, leading residents further along the path to prosperity. (Edited by Zhou Yunlai)