Tech & Sci
19:52, 23-Oct-2017
Cotton-picking machines replace manual workers in Xinjiang
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Cotton-picking machines are replacing hundreds of thousands of workers in China's biggest producing region.
At this time of year, cotton growers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the country's northwest, would usually have started hiring pickers. However, 116,000 hectares of fields in Shawan County have already been harvested by machines.
A cotton-picking machine can do the work of 2,000 workers each day. /Xinhua Photo
A cotton-picking machine can do the work of 2,000 workers each day. /Xinhua Photo
"In the past, the cotton picking season lasted at least 45 days from October to November," said Lin Hongru, a top official in Caohu Village. "But now, the machines can harvest a 15-hectare cotton field in one day. A cotton-picking machine can do the work of 2,000 workers each day.
"The cotton picking season was the busiest time of the year. Cotton growers in my village hired migrant workers from Gansu, Sichuan and Henan provinces to help. People worked in the fields from dawn to dusk."
Now, roaring cotton picking machines move through the fields, removing the cotton from the bolls and collecting it in a large container as the picking season has become much easier for growers.
Xinjiang produced 3.594 million tonnes of cotton in 2016, accounting for 67.3 percent of China's total, up from 62.5 percent in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Although there was a decrease in the growing area last year, cotton yields per hectare increased by 151.5 kilograms in 2016, thanks to the increase in machinery and irrigation.
China accounts for about 30 percent of the world's cotton output, with only 15 percent of the world's cotton-growing land.
China accounts for about 30 percent of the world's cotton output. /Xinhua Photo
China accounts for about 30 percent of the world's cotton output. /Xinhua Photo
In Shihezi County, cotton farmer Bao Yucheng said he used to pay 160,000 yuan (24,000 US dollars) to hire more than 20 cotton pickers to harvest his 13,333 hectares of fields. This year he paid 50,000 to 60,000 yuan to hire a cotton picking machine.
Agricultural technicians took advantage of the harvesting season to demonstrate a new generation machine, which can pack fibers into two-tonne bales while harvesting.
Gao Yongjian, an agri-technician, told farmers that the machine is more efficient than the older models.
He said large-scale farming is increasing in Xinjiang, as farmers became more interested in joining rural cooperatives to share machinery.
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency