Pic story: major producer of hybrid rice seeds in Cengong County, SW China

Chen Liangdong presents harvested rice seeds in a hybrid rice seed breeding base in Cengong County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Aug. 26, 2023.

As autumn arrives, the rice fields turn golden. Chen Liangdong has invited a professional harvesting team from Henan Province to harvest the hybrid rice seeds on his farm. Looking at the abundant rice seeds, he was overjoyed.

Chen, who is 61, is a major producer of hybrid rice seeds in Cengong County. He used to work as a construction worker in the county for many years. In 2012, Chen returned to his village and took over the idle land of the villagers to produce hybrid rice seeds. From spring to autumn, he is busy with tilling, sowing, mulching, transplanting, fertilizing, pollinating, and other tasks. Every year, he provides jobs for more than 100 households in the surrounding villages.

Cengong County is a national rice seed production county with 47 years of history in hybrid rice seed production. As part of its rural revitalization efforts, the county has designated the hybrid rice seed planting as a leading industry. Every year, the county supplies over 8 million kilograms of high-quality rice seeds to the market, effectively boosting the income and employment opportunities of local farmers.

Chen Liangdong talks with a harvester driver in a hybrid rice seeds field in Cengong County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Aug. 26, 2023.

Chen Liangdong wipes sweat while working in a hybrid rice seeds field in Cengong County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 29, 2023.

Chen Liangdong loads harvested rice seeds onto a truck in Cengong County of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Aug. 26, 2023.