Hundreds of millions of Chinese farmers celebrated the fifth harvest festival on Friday, as the country expects a bumper harvest despite COVID-19 and extreme weather.
This is after overcoming the impact of last year’s rare autumn floods in the North, the late sowing of winter wheat and the sporadic resurgences of COVID-19 cases.
With severe heat and drought in some southern regions, China has seen output increases in summer grain and early rice and was expecting another bumper harvest this year.
At an agri-expo park in the south-western Chinese city of Chengdu, one of the venues of this year’s harvest festival celebration, residents from Xinjin District attended several farming-themed activities on Friday morning.
The expo witnessed activities such as product exhibitions, ceremonies to award best-performing farmers, and fitness competitions.
“Thanks to technological advances, I have reaped bumper tangerine harvests and witnessed an increase of annual income these years,’’ said Tan Jing.
A participant owned a tangerine planting area of over 2,000 mu (about 133.33 hectares) in Jinlong Village of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.
Initiated in 2018, the Chinese farmers’ harvest festival coincides with the autumnal equinox each year.
This is one of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese lunar calendar and usually falls between September 22 and 24, during the country’s agricultural harvest season.
China’s total grain output consists of three parts early rice, summer grain, and autumn production.
Autumn grain production makes up about 75 per cent of the annual grain output.
The country aimed to achieve a grain output of more than 650 billion kg this year.
Xinhua
