Sugarcane planting area expands in Luocheng

A sugarcane planting area of 1,066.7 hectares was added this year in Luocheng Mulam autonomous county, bringing the total number to 11,133.3 hectares.

The number of hectares with high yield crops at the plantation reached 487.8, 146 percent of the target number, official data show.

The sugar cane industry is a pillar industry in Luocheng. It contributes to growth in financial revenue, farmers' income and enterprises' performances.

During the sugar extraction season between 2017 and 2018, sugarcane growers in Luocheng achieved total income of 260 million yuan ($40.5 million) by selling raw sugarcane.

The county releases a series of preferential policies to support the plantation of sugarcane. A variety of grants are given per mu (0.06 hectares), including 150 yuan for tractor-ploughing, 600 yuan for sugarcane planting and 4.8 yuan for policy-supported agricultural insurance. The farmers also receive 100 kilograms of compound fertilizers for each mu of land.

Efforts have been made to increase the scientific content in agricultural production. More than 1,000 people have received training and technical guidance and over 5,000 materials have been handed out to improve their technical competency.