May 5, 2008

Heilongjiang Reclamation Area to boost province's grain output

The Reclamation Area in Heilongjiang Province in north-eastern China is expected to produce 13 million tonnes of grain, with more than 90 percent of the crop to be sold this year.

The reclamation area plans to plant 2.1933 million hectares, this year or a 6.4 percent increase over last year.

Authorities will spend RMB 1 billion (US$143 million) buying more than 30,000 sets of agricultural machinery and 15 agricultural aircrafts.

Moreover, a new soil based on formulated fertilization technology will be used on 1.667 million hectares of planting areas to cut production cost by over RMB 500 million (US$71 million).

The reclamation area had an investment of RMB 450 million in water conservation last year, adding 140,000 hectares of new and improved irrigated paddy fields and 10,133.33 hectares that are irrigated with water-saving technology.

The reclamation area has been contributing to around a third of the total grain output in Heilongjiang Province, a major grain producer in China, in recent years.