HARBIN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Although the snow has not melted in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, farmers are busy preparing for spring plowing after a winter fallow.
Dubbed "China's breadbasket," Heilongjiang boasts the country's largest plantations of rice, corn and beans with vast tracts of fertile farmland. The province has planned a grain sowing area of over 14 million hectares in the spring, including over 5.3 million hectares of corn, nearly 4 million hectares of rice and over 4 million hectares of soybeans.
Wearing gauze masks and "red armbands," 262 volunteers organized by the Qindeli cooperative farm in Heilongjiang are making door-to-door visits to help farmers tackle challenges before the farming season, such as clearing snow, building greenhouses and fixing production tools and preparing materials.
Xing Weiguo, head of the rural cooperative, said that due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, some members of the cooperatives are facing a labor shortage. The farm mobilized local volunteers to help prepare for spring farming in advance.
China is taking a raft of steps to ensure stable food supplies, incomes of farmers and steady preparation for spring plowing amid the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus in rural areas.
Heilongjiang's agriculture and rural affairs department has issued a notice to urge farmers to make early preparations of clearing snow-covered fields before seedling, as the province received heavy winter snowfalls.
Liu Chun, chairman of the Northeast Paddy Field Modern Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in the city of Fujin, Heilongjiang, said he is busy overhauling agricultural machinery.
"The maintenance of more than 50 sets of paddy field beating machines and 20 sets of transplanting machinery need to be completed within 20 days to ensure the launch of rice production," he said.
In the city of Qiqihar, Yan Shiwei, chairman of a local cooperative, said he arranged members of the cooperative to work separately in different time schedules. Each member needs to report their body temperature and go through disinfection procedures every day.
"Extensive efforts should be made to prepare for the spring plowing on the premise of fully ensuring the safety of our members and workers," he said.
"The local agricultural department uses QQ, WeChat and other media tools to inform farmers on matters concerning agricultural production," said Zhao Feng, head of the production department of Beidahuang Group Red May Farm Co., Ltd.
He said local authorities used online accounts inviting experts to provide tips such as how to choose agricultural materials.
Wang Baiqing, a rice grower in the city of Wuchang, known for producing China's primary brands of rice, said he has ordered more than 10,000 kg of fertilizers online.
"The seller promised to deliver the fertilizers directly to my field," Wang said.
Beifeng Group Co., a fertilizer producer providing over half of the fertilizers used in the agricultural province of Heilongjiang, said the company is doing everything possible to ensure production.
Sun Xiaohui, director of the economic development department of the provincial supply and marketing Cooperatives, said the department has launched an online service to help match the demand and supply of agricultural materials. Farmers who order online can receive home deliveries of the materials through the network.
Data from the Heilongjiang provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs show that the supplies of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other materials are sufficient, retaining the same level as those in previous years.
So far, 1.257 billion kg of seeds for major crops has been prepared, along with the supply of 2 million tonnes of chemical fertilizers and more than 9,000 tonnes of pesticides.
Amid the epidemic prevention and control, the provincial government has paid extra attention to address farmers' demands and ensure their enthusiasm. Banks in Heilongjiang have granted 5.56 billion yuan (around 792 million U.S. dollars) of credit with 5.364 billion yuan of funds in place for agricultural purposes.
Liu Haitao, who runs a family farm in Mulan County, said he is planning to grow rice, corn and some cash crops. He recently used a cloud loaning app to borrow 580,000 yuan for his mortgage.
"I just had to tap a few buttons on my phone and I received the loan," he said.
The online tool provided by the Heilongjiang Branch of Postal Savings Bank has issued more than 1 billion yuan in loans for farmers to engage in spring plowing since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in January.
