Gengma, Yunnan: Sugarcane Acreage Stabilizes at 400,000 Mu, Over 2.5 Million Tons Expected for 2025/26 Crushing Season

As spring breezes sweep across Gengma, Yunnan, vast fields burst with vitality. Since the start of spring 2026, Gengma Autonomous County has been proactively implementing measures focused on food security, industrial efficiency, and increased farmer incomes. By leveraging high-standard farmland, advanced agricultural machinery, and distinctive industries, the county has launched a comprehensive spring farming campaign. With a spirit of 'starting strong and fighting from day one,' Gengma is embarking on a new journey towards a billion-dollar agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery industry. In preparation for spring farming, Gengma Autonomous County adheres to the philosophy of 'planning in early spring, acting in the present, and winning throughout the year.' It coordinates human resources, materials, land, and technology to ensure efficient and orderly agricultural production. Agricultural supplies are ample, with 48.7 tons of seeds for crops like rice and corn already stocked, and fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural films fully supplied at stable prices. Agricultural machinery has been significantly upgraded, with 1,067 sets of farm implements inspected and repaired. Specialized mechanized plowing service teams have been established, equipped with large tractors, ridging and trenching machines, and mulching machines, substantially increasing mechanization rates. In terms of water conservancy, the main northern pipeline of the Gengma irrigation area has been fully connected, covering 2,900 mu of farmland and benefiting 45,000 people, ensuring a continuous supply of water for spring planting. Concurrently, strict regulation of the agricultural materials market is in place to combat counterfeit products, ensuring farmers use reliable seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Leveraging its tropical advantages, Gengma Autonomous County deeply integrates spring farming with its leading industries, fostering the diversified and collaborative development of special industries such as grain, sugarcane, flue-cured tobacco, sericulture, fruits, and vegetables. The sugarcane industry, a key pillar, maintains a stable planting area of 400,000 mu, covering nine townships and benefiting 23,000 sugarcane households and 130,000 residents. Through the promotion of superior varieties like 'YunZhe 08-1609' and 'YunZhe 05-51,' the coverage rate of improved varieties has reached 100%. For the 2025/2026 crushing season, industrial crushing volume is expected to exceed 2.5 million tons, with per capita annual income for sugarcane farmers projected to reach over 7,700 yuan, and total sugarcane revenue estimated to surpass 1 billion yuan. Additionally, spring planting for flue-cured tobacco is progressing smoothly, sericulture is expanding and becoming more efficient, and spring management for other distinctive cultivations like Australian freshwater crayfish, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and traditional Chinese medicine is fully underway. Gengma Autonomous County also actively deploys scientific and technological talent to the front lines, bringing expertise directly to the fields. Through the 'Hundreds of Teams, Thousands of Personnel Supporting Farmers' Income Increase Action,' agricultural science service teams and technology special commissioners provide in-depth technical guidance on land preparation, seedling cultivation, fertilization, and green pest and disease control, achieving over 98% coverage for improved varieties and methods. Furthermore, green technologies such as biodegradable mulch, soil testing for tailored fertilization, and water-saving irrigation are promoted to transform agriculture towards ecological and intensive models. Innovative high-efficiency models like 'rice-crayfish co-culture,' 'intercropping in sugarcane fields,' and 'tobacco-grain rotation' are expanding, achieving 'dual use of water, double harvest from one field, and multiple benefits in one season,' boosting per mu efficiency by over 30%. With diligence in early spring, Gengma is bustling with activity. From sugarcane fields in the plains to tobacco farms in the mountains, from sericulture bases to smart aquaculture farms, every corner of Gengma is busy, and every household has an income-increasing goal. In 2025, the county's total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery exceeded 10 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 10.271 billion yuan. In 2026, Gengma is using spring farming as a starting point, aiming for stronger industries, wealthier farmers, and more beautiful rural areas. It is precisely focusing on ten key industries—sugarcane, tea, rubber, nuts, vegetables, flue-cured tobacco, sericulture, coffee, traditional Chinese medicine, and animal husbandry—to promote the upgrading of the entire agricultural value chain. Gengma Autonomous County is committed to transforming the efforts of spring into a year-long harvest and the hopes in the fields into the prosperity of its people, striving to write a new chapter of strong agriculture, beautiful rural areas, and wealthy farmers in the border region in the new era.