Heilongjiang soybean planters benefit from increased subsidies, higher prices

Although early spring temperatures remain low in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Wang Guixi has been busy preparing for the spring plowing season.

When he heard that the subsidy for planting soybeans would rise this year, Wang, 48, a farmer in Xinfu village, Hailun, a major production hub for high-quality soybeans, decided to rent more land from farmers in nearby villages to expand his crop planting area to 90 hectares.

Last year, 60 of his 67 hectares of land were sown with soybeans, and the remainder with corn.

"Soybean prices have continued to rise in recent years. I can sell the crop for more than 6 yuan (94 cents) a kilo, compared with 5.50 yuan last year," Wang said. "With subsidies from the local government included, I earned about 5,000 yuan from a single hectare of soybeans."

With higher profits from soybean farming, along with policies adopted by the local government to encourage the growth of such crops, the amount of land used for soybean planting in the city is expected to rise to 180,820 hectares this year, a year-on-year expansion of 16 percent, accounting for more than half the farmland in Hailun.

The city will take more measures to help farmers improve soybean productivity and quality, including promoting more superior species, building a pilot area for highly efficient production of green and high-quality soybeans, and strengthening soil protection.

Li Yanhua, 56, an agricultural researcher, spent the winter in Sanya, Hainan province－not to escape the bitter cold in the northeast, but to cultivate her new soybean varieties at the Sanya Nanfan Scientific and Research Breeding Base. She plans to return home to Hailun late next month.

"The process for new soybean varieties, from breeding to approval, usually takes 10 to 12 years," said Li, a researcher in Hailun at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology.

"To shorten this period, almost every year after the autumn harvest, I take seeds to Hainan for planting, returning to Heilongjiang for further experiments after they are harvested."

Over the past three decades, Li has cultivated 10 high-yield and high-quality soybean varieties planted on more than 3.3 million hectares of farmland, helping to increase grain yield by 1 billion kilograms and local economic benefits by 4 billion yuan.

According to the provincial government, which recently released the Work Plan of Soybean Expansion in Heilongjiang for 2022, planting of such crops will be increased across the province this year, following a national plan by the central government to rejuvenate soybean production.

The plan states that 4.57 million hectares will be used to plant soybeans in Heilongjiang this year, some 667,000 hectares more than last year. Total grain yield is expected to reach 8.5 million metric tons, a rise of 1.3 million tons from last year.

According to the plan, soybean subsidies in the province will be 3,000 yuan per hectare higher than those for corn. Last year, soybean subsidies were 3,720 yuan per hectare, while those for corn were 1,020 yuan per hectare.

During this year's two sessions, the annual gatherings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, legislators and political advisers highlighted soybean-related issues.

Wang Shoucong, an NPC deputy and president of the Beidahuang Agricultural Reclamation Group, a State-owned enterprise in Heilongjiang, proposed that further efforts be made in several respects to increase soybean output.

This work includes establishing high-standard farmland, increasing subsidies for "companion planting "of corn and soybeans, and strengthening policy support for green soybean production technology.

Wang Shoucong suggested that additional insurance coverage be promoted to reduce risk during soybean planting.

"Soybeans are one of the major crops for the Beidahuang Group, which will play a leading role in expanding soybean production," he said. Last year, the group allocated more than 600,000 hectares of land for soybean planting, achieving an average yield of 2.61 tons.