Rice planting technology looks a lot like printing

Just when you thought desktop printing had reached its zenith, a new kind of printing for farmers is making rice planting a lot easier.

Instead of spitting out ink onto paper, the new printing device spits out rice seeds and glues them to a paper backing 65 centimeters wide. The resulting sheets, straw pulp paper with seeds attached, are then laid out in a rice paddy, ready to sprout.

The technology, which was introduced in Chongqing's Yongchuan district last year, is helping farmers in Xinjian village in Wujian county improve their planting efficiency and boost yields.