Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, urged for more effective measures to protect black soil when he inspected northeast China's Jilin Province. Jilin has seven million hectares of black soil, accounting for 24.82 percent of the total black soil area in China.

Jilin is promoting conservational tillage to protect black soil, one of the most suitable soils for growing crops.

Straw mulching is a major method to promote conservational tillage. Farmers mix cow dung and maize straw, add a composting agent, compost and ferment them into organic fertilizer which will not only increase soil organic elements but also help prevent wind- and water-driven soil erosion and preserve soil moisture.

In Fanjiatun Town, the Gancheng Farmers Cooperative has planted soybeans instead of corn on 300 hectares of land, because soybeans produce rhizobia that can improve soil fertility. The local government supports farmers to use organic fertilizer made from maize straws through subsidies.

Over 32,000 hectares of high-standard farmland in Baicheng City is under construction. These farmlands have well-designed irrigation facilities, power facilities, and use organic fertilizers.

(Cover image is a screenshot.)

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