Chinanews.com, Luliang, March 30th. Title: An exploration of developing agriculture in a mountainous county: changing sloping farmland to increase income

　　Author Gao Ruifeng Xu Wenyue

　　When the spring farming was busy again, looking at the terraced fields where drought can be stored and waterlogged can be drained, Zhang Lansuo, a villager in Banqiao Village, Shilou County, Shanxi Province, said with emotion, “I spent most of my life on this steep slope. Han was looking forward to rain, but it was raining, but I watched the applied fertilizer be washed away by the rain."

　　Today, 6,600 acres of sloping farmland in Banqiao Village has been transformed into wide strips of terraces, and the entire village's farmland has been mechanized.

The sloping farmland that used to run water, soil, and fertilizer has been improved into an increased harvest field that preserves water, soil, and fertilizer.

The farming environment and field roads have been improved, and the new type of dry-farming agriculture water-permeable film mulching technology has been implemented.

　　“In the past, more than 50 acres of millet were planted, and the harvest was more than 10,000 catties; after it was changed to a wide strip of terraces, the same acres of millet was planted, and the harvest doubled.” Cui Junguang, a villager, said that the farmers are busy, just like their own. There can be a good harvest per mu of land.

Shilou County promotes land trusteeship throughout the county to promote the effective connection between small farmers and modern agriculture.

Photo by Xu Wenyue

　　Shilou County is located on the east bank of the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the western foot of Lvliang Mountain. The mountains are continuous, ravines are crisscross, the terrain is fragmented, and there are many slope farms.

Most sloping fields that run water, soil, and fertilizer can only be farmed with cattle and harvested in autumn by manpower, which restricts the increase in crop yields.

　　In order to change the above situation, Shilou County has continued to promote slope farmland reconstruction projects in response to land fragmentation, extensive farming methods, and low agricultural output. The slope farmland has been transformed into wide strips of terraces to pave the way for mechanized operations.

　　"Deep ploughing one mu of land can be easily completed in 20 minutes." Agricultural mechanic Li Youping said that mechanization has greatly reduced farmers' heavy physical labor.

In addition, Xin Xing, director of the Shilou County Agricultural Machinery Center Extension Station, introduced that the county has installed smart terminals and GPS systems in agricultural machinery and equipment to equip agricultural machinery with "smart" brains, greatly improving its use efficiency.

　　The transformation of sloping farmland has created conditions for the promotion of land trusteeship.

Shilou County promotes land trusteeship throughout the county, and realizes the transformation of traditional agriculture by modern factors such as capital, technology, and management in the links of cultivation, planting, prevention, and harvesting through full trust, half trust, and key link trusteeship. Promote the effective connection between small farmers and modern agriculture.

　　Xiatianzhuang Village trusts more than 6,800 acres of arable land, Majiashan Village trusts more than 6,000 acres of arable land, Tianjiashan Village trusts 950 acres of water-permeable mulch corn millet...In 2020, the villager Zhang Shuangguang of Xiatianzhuang Village will trust the arable land, earning a net profit of 50,000 yuan for 100 acres of land.

Cao Yanfei, director of the Majiashan Village Committee, introduced that after the arable land was entrusted, the total output of millet in the village was 860,000 jin, with an output value of 2.58 million yuan.

　　Public data shows that Shilou County has a total of 113,000 mu of cultivated land under trusteeship. The county has a population of 120,000, and the per capita trustee area is nearly 1 mu.

Zhang Fuquan, a villager in Banqiao Village, said that the cultivated land has been transformed into wide strips of terraced fields, and the farming has been mechanized; the whole village has promoted land trusteeship, and the farmers have acted as "hands-offs" from farming to harvesting.

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