Xinjiang set record for grain output in 2024

Improvement of autonomous region's soil enables growing farming activity

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has been transformed from having terrain dominated by desert into being a "granary on the frontier", officials said, citing efforts to improve saline-alkali soil and increase high-standard farmland to bolster national food security.

Last year, Xinjiang's total grain output reached a record 23.3 million metric tons, elevating the region to 13th place in China's grain production rankings. Grain yield per hectare rose to 7,875 kilograms, earning Xinjiang the top national ranking for the first time, Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of the regional government, said on Sunday while delivering the work report at the annual session of the 14th Xinjiang Regional People's Congress.

The region aims to increase its grain output by an extra 500,000 tons this year, Xie Yingzhou, deputy director of the Xinjiang Regional Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said on Monday at a news conference elaborating on the work report.