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Chinese farmers increased the sowing area of green feed and farmyard manure by 8.65 percent and 17 percent respectively this fall to meet a growing demand for pollutant-free farm and animal produce, official figures show.
A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on planting intentions for autumn-winter crops this year showed that the sown acreage of vegetables jumped 6.3 percent over last year.
The NBS said stable market prices and relatively high returns had prompted Chinese farmers to expand the planting area of vegetables greatly over the past few years.
The sown acreage of cash crops, such as rape seed, also expanded 8.3 percent over last year. The largest increase was in the sown acreage of quality rape seed with the contents of sulfides and other harmful, chemical elements down to international standards, surging 12.1 percent over last year.
In the meantime, the planting acreage of cereals crops dropped one percent and the sown area of winter wheat shrank 0.9 percent.
(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2002)
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