Round farming areas are placed in a huge part of China’s largest desert, Taklimakan, in Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region, have been benefiting the farmers as various developments are achieved.
Hotan County, located at the southern part of the desert, has intensively encouraged the development of the smart agriculture concept in recent years. Despite the desert’s high evaporation rate and limited water retention capacity, forage planting is now viable. Water-saving irrigation equipment has been used to precisely manage the volume and duration of water spraying.
The county has observed an improvement in the ecological environment, the development of animal farming, and an increase in farmer payments thanks to fodder planting.
“Forage planting in the desert is of great meaning. It can not only defend against the wind and the sand, but also help local farmers earn more money.” said Yu Wenhua, manager of forage planting base of an agricultural technology company.
The local forage planting area had exceeded 6,667 hectares and the number of cattle and sheep had reached 737,100 by the end of 2021.