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The Rice Harvest in China

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Rice is cultivated in almost every empty plot of land in rural China (Video by J. Ivan Quezada)

When you visit the rural parts of China in the months of April to June, you will notice that many of the fields are used to plant the most common and widely consumed food staple in many parts of the world, rice.

Rice ready to be harvested in Jiangsu, China (Photo by Leollyne Teng)

According to statistics by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2008, China was ranked the World’s largest rice producer with an estimated almost 196 million metric tons of rough rice, or about 35% of total world production and occupying about 29.5 million hectares for growth of this crop. On the other hand, China also accounts for a whopping 134.5 million metric tons of milled rice consumption and 1.3 million tons to export.

Vast fields of rice fields provide a beautiful sight (Photo by Leollyne Teng)

The scene of the rural areas being used to plant the rice crop in China can be an overwhelming sight and as well a beautiful scenery. When I first saw the areas local to my home being used for this purpose, I was entertained by the many people working hard planting the crop on a pond like huge areas of land. It was beautiful to see how over a few weeks, all that earlier had been an empty land, was quickly being filled by the green spikes of rice.

This plot of land near the city of Huaqiao in the Jiangsu Province used for rice production (Photo by Leollyne Teng)

After weeks and months of patient irrigation and care of the rice crops, they achieve proper harvest conditions by the months of August to October, depending on the location and before the cold days of winter set in. Here are some of the pictures and videos we were able to take during the planting and harvesting season of the year 2019.

The rice crops are ready to be harvested in the late month of October and November of each year. (Photo by Leollyne Teng)


La Cosecha de Arroz en China

Cuando visite las zonas rurales de China en los meses de abril a junio, notará que muchos de los campos se utilizan para plantar el alimento básico más común y más consumido en muchas partes del mundo, el arroz.

Once the crop reaches its maturity, the beautiful rice fields are harvested by heavy machinery (Photo by Leollyne Teng)

Según las estadísticas de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) en 2009, China fue clasificada como el mayor productor de arroz del mundo con un estimado de casi 196 millones de toneladas métricas de arroz crudo, o aproximadamente el 35% de la producción mundial total y ocupando alrededor de 29.5 millones de hectáreas para la cosecha de este cultivo. Por otro lado, China también representa la suma de 134.5 millones de toneladas métricas de consumo de arroz procesado y 1.3 millones de toneladas para la exportación hacia otros países.

This older lady was picking left over rice spikes left behind by the machines
(Photo by Leollyne Teng)

La escena de las zonas rurales que se utilizan para plantar la cosecha de arroz en China puede llegar a ser una vista abrumadora al igual que un hermoso paisaje. Cuando vi por primera vez que las áreas locales cercas a mi casa se usaban para este propósito, me entretuve viendo las muchas personas que trabajaban duro plantando el cultivo en grandes áreas de tierra con una apariencia a pantanos. Fue hermoso ver cómo durante unas semanas, todo lo que antes habían sido unos terrenos vacíos, estos se llenaban rápidamente con las espigas verdes de arroz.

Harvesting by hand can be a labor intensive work that it is still done by many in China
(Photo by J. Ivan Quezada)

Después de semanas y meses de paciente riego y cuidado de los cultivos de arroz, estos alcanzan las condiciones de cosecha adecuadas para los meses de agosto a octubre, dependiendo de la ubicación y antes de los fríos días de invierno. Estas son algunas de las fotos y videos que fueron capaces de tomar durante la temporada de siembra y cosecha del año 2019.

Leftover rice by the machines can still be used for a good meal in modest homes all over China (Photo by Leollyne Teng)

Sources of information:

https://nipunarice.com/rice-o-pedia/major-rice-producing-nations/

https://www.irri.org/where-we-work/countries/china

http://www.fao.org/home/en/

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