Mold in the fields – China’s breadbasket soaked by rain

By ZHANG Xu

In the first week of June, Henan province in central China was soaked in the rain. For the farmers who grow wheat, it was a catastrophe.

The rain started on May 25 and shows no sign of stopping. On June 2, ZHANG Xin's wheat was still unharvested, and more rain was on the way.

“Humans are still quite powerless in the face of nature,” said Zhang, who owns 20 mu (1.3 hectares) of wheat in Xiaotun, a small town in Henan’s city of Pingdingshan.

The Henan government has done everything it can to “seize the grain from the mouth of rain.”

Waiting for the harvester

Zhang’s uncle is old and has high blood pressure. The rain has made it very hard for combine harvesters to get into the village, not to mention cutting the wheat.

"Taking medicine several times a day doesn't help. He heard vinegar can reduce blood pressure, so he has been drinking vinegar as if it were plain water," Zhang said.

The weather forecast says it will rain for the next couple of days, and his aunt is worried that the wheat will get even worse. She and her husband are in the field with sickles, harvesting the useless wheat as best as they can.

Another farmer WANG Ning is also waiting for the harvester. There is a severe shortage of combine harvesters. “I haven't slept for a whole night in weeks. I have to keep watching for the harvester to come to our land, or else we'll have to wait in line if someone else intercepts them.”

During interviews with farmers, many said they are always waiting for the machinery to arrive, while concerned that rain might destroy everything.

On May 28, the Henan government began to identify shortages of agricultural machinery, contract operators, and provide services at the village, household, and plot levels.

‘There is no solution’

WANG Jiangtao, chairman of the agricultural machinery association in Zhumadian, told Jiemian News, "Every year, the harvesters move from south to north according to the maturity of the wheat. The rain has delayed harvesting time in the south, making it difficult to avoid a shortage of harvesters."

There were incidents where harvesters were prohibited from traveling on highways. Combine harvesters and transport vehicles for combine harvesters are exempt from toll fees, but only with a cross-regional operation certificate issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Harvester owner, ZHANG Dan, explained to Jiemian News that whether harvesters are charged or not depends on local policies. “Some places charge tolls, while others don't. Standards are not consistent across regions.”

Wang Jiangtao said his association managed to find 50 harvesters but it is not enough. Many agitated farmers are watching their wheat rot in the field.

WANG Guiying said 90 percent of her wheat is going moldy. “There is no solution, even if I cut the wheat, I’ve got nowhere to dry it.”

Henan government has 4,600 dryers and has asked schools to provide playgrounds and halls for farmers to store the wheat. On May 30, Henan issued 200 million yuan to farmers drying wheat.

Draining waterlogged fields

“Although there have been great advancements in technology, China is still relying on the heavens for food,” said MU Zhongjie, director of the Institute of grain policy and Law at Henan University of Technology.

Minimizing losses of farmers after extreme weather is a significant issue that needs to be addressed. Mu suggested draining waterlogged fields, avoiding prolonged waiting, and smoother machine harvesting.

Henan Province has 85 million mu of wheat. As of June 4, 50 million mu had been harvested by 97,000 harvesters. In areas such as Nanyang, Xinyang, and Zhumadian, greatly affected by the rain, wheat harvesting has basically concluded.

“Compared to 2022, this year's wheat harvest is noticeably delayed, and a reduction in yield is likely, with quality inferior to last year,” said Mu. The wheat had grown well this year, but recent rainfall has ruined the harvest and it is difficult to predict the extent of yield reduction.

World's largest wheat producer

China is the world's largest producer of wheat. At the end of May, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced that the emergency plans had been formulated. The need to harvest and plant quickly should be strengthened among leaders and staff at all levels, and the emergency response should be improved.

Mu pointed out the need to ensure the smooth passage of agricultural machinery and digitize the management of operations.

“In recent years, with the advance of mechanization, awareness of seizing harvest among most farmers has diminished. In the event of extreme weather, if machinery cannot be deployed, crops may not be harvested. This not only causes significant losses to grain farmers but threatens national food security," said Mu.