April 15, 2022

 

Corn planting in China facing delays due to lockdowns

 

 

China's key corn planting areas in its north-eastern provinces could face planting delays as millions of farmers are unable to return home from short-term jobs in the city due to COVID-19 lockdowns, Reuters reported.

 

Planting delays could affect production in the second biggest corn producing nation in the world, where prices have already reached record highs and government support for soybeans also threaten to reduce growing of the grain.

 

Farmers remain stuck despite government pledges to handle the problem, as the critical time for sowing grain fast approaches.

 

One farmer named Wang from Changchun, the capital of Jilin, said he needed to tend his land immediately but he cannot return. Jilin province is under one of the toughest COVID-19 lockdown measures where cases soared in early March.

 

Transport curbs have also affected supplies of fertiliser to the region, with farmers coping with record prices of the crop nutrient as well as other input costs like diesel.

 

The Jilin government organised a special transport after thousands of farmers took to social media to vent their frustrations.

 

Chinese smallholder farmers work in manual jobs in cities during the winter when farming stops.

 

Local authorities said close to 100,000 farmers have returned home by April 10.

 

Farmers Daily, a state-backed media said planting is delayed slightly but the the impact will not be big.

 

Wang said he and four other farmers have contacted the city, county and village authorities for assistance but have not received a response

 

He said he still need to clear the corn stalks from 2021's crop and prepare the land, even though he has fertiliser and seeds ready for his 1-hectare farm.

 

-      Reuters