By love-89.com As the late rice harvest season approaches, farmers in various villages of Qiyang County, Hunan Province, are rapidly reaping their late rice and immediately turning to rapeseed planting.
In Zhongsheng Village, Bai Shui Town, farmers are busy utilizing advanced machinery for their operations. “Every day, there are two rotary tillers and one seeding machine working in the fields. We can complete the rapeseed planting within a week,” noted Xiao Aiwen, a large-scale grain producer, as he loaded seeds into the combined seeder. “The rice-rice-rapeseed model generates higher returns compared to traditional farming methods, with an average income of about 1,500 yuan per mu each year.”
The “rice-rice-rapeseed” rotation involves growing double crops of rice on the same land, followed by a rapeseed crop after the late rice is harvested. This innovative agricultural approach not only promotes efficient cycling and re-utilization of farmland but also reduces the frequency of chemical fertilizer use, improving soil structure and fertility, ultimately leading to high-yield, efficient, and sustainable agriculture.
Meanwhile, in Xiaomadu Town, fellow grain producer Zhou Tiejiao is also busy sowing rapeseed. In the past, his 150-acre plot often lay fallow during winter due to the high maintenance pressure on the crops. This year, the town introduced the rice-rapeseed rotation model to combat idle land, offering a subsidy of 60 yuan per mu, alongside insurance subsidies for rapeseed planting. The initiative is set to cover 14,000 mu of winter-fallow fields and 5,000 mu of barren land, with expectations of over 600 yuan in net income per mu.
Encouraged by these policies, Zhou has decided to plant rapeseed on all 150 acres of his land after the rice harvest this year.
In recent years, Qiyang County has focused on increasing land efficiency, boosting grain production, and enhancing farmers’ income. By implementing the “rice-rice-rapeseed” farming system, the municipality aims to create year-round income opportunities for farmers while ensuring the sustainable development of agriculture.
This year, the area planted with rapeseed in Qiyang County has reached 361,000 acres, with 24,000 acres dedicated to the rice-rapeseed rotation, expecting to yield over 36,000 tons of rapeseed.