STORY: Foreign journalist explores tech-powered machinery in Xinjiang's cotton fields
SHOOTING TIME: Sept. 27-28, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 16, 2024
LENGTH: 00:05:25
LOCATION: KORLA, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP 1 (English): ZUZANNA ZAK, Xinhua correspondent
2. various of cotton fields in Xinjiang
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
4. various of cotton fields in Xinjiang
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
6. STANDUP 2 (English): ZUZANNA ZAK, Xinhua correspondent
7. various of cotton fields in Xinjiang
8. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
9. various of cotton fields in Xinjiang
10. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
11. SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): LIU SHUAIWEI, Office manager of Korla Puhang Agricultural Machinery Service Co., Ltd.
12. SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese) MAHMUT IMIN, Local farmer
13. SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese) AHMATJAN AMUDULLA, Local farmer
14. SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): QAYSAJAN ABDUREYIMU, Local farmer

STORYLINE:

STANDUP 1 (English): ZUZANNA ZAK, Xinhua correspondent
"Xinjiang is the largest cotton-producing region in China. It has ushered in the cotton harvest season. How has technology powered cotton harvesting? "

Humming harvesters are rolling through sprawling cotton fields in Puhui Township, Korla City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 

Local cotton farmers are filled with anticipation and fulfillment as this is the time to reap the fruits of their year-long farm work.

Li Guozhao is one of them.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
"I have about 400 to 500 mu (about 26.7 to 33.3 hectares) of cotton field. This year, I think the yield could reach about 450 kilograms per mu (1 mu=0.067 hectares) of land, increasing by about 40 to 50 kilograms compared to last year. I've been growing cotton here for two to three decades. The yield is good every year. The quality of cotton grown in this area is also better."

The busiest people during the cotton-picking season are not the farmers, but the harvester operators.

Cotton in Li's fields has been harvested by machines since 2019.

In the past, it took at least 12 people a month and a half to harvest the fields.

He had to recruit cotton pickers from all over the country, including those from provinces like Sichuan and Henan.

Now, machines have made the process faster, more cost-effective, and more convenient.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
"The mechanization rate here is now almost 100 percent. Usually, I rent two machines. If the weather is good, they can operate day and night. So, it takes them about a day and a half to two days to harvest my fields. Due to mechanization, the costs in the fields alone are reduced by at least 600 to 700 yuan (85 to 99 U.S. dollars) per mu of land."

STANDUP 2 (English): ZUZANNA ZAK, Xinhua correspondent
"After being harvested by the machines, the cotton gets packed into these huge bundles, which can weigh over two tonnes."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
"Since 2022, 90 percent of our harvesters have been upgraded to module-building pickers. (By wrapping the cotton into round modules), it becomes water-resistant, less flammable, and easy to transport."

In Li's fields, not only is cotton harvesting highly mechanized, but many other farming tasks are as well, simplifying overall field management.

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): LI GUOZHAO, Cotton farmer
"The entire farming process is now mechanized. In spring, we use machines to sow seeds and drones to apply pesticides. In the past, we needed to drive tractors into the fields to do the job. It was tiring to manage 200 mu (13.3 hectares) of field. But with mechanization, it's now easy to manage 1,000 mu (66.7 hectares) of land. I can just drive my car to the fields and check on them. If they need pesticides, I make a phone call to the agricultural cooperative, and they will send me a drone. Within two to three hours, the job is done."

In Xinjiang, modern agriculture is evident not only in the fields but also in farm management.

A local agricultural machinery service company has collaborated with agricultural machine manufacturers and local cooperatives to provide farmers with various machinery for everything from sowing to harvesting.

This year, it provides service to around 11,000 households in the region. Farmers pay service fees for its services.

SOUNDBITE 5 (Chinese): LIU SHUAIWEI, Office manager of Korla Puhang Agricultural Machinery Service Co., Ltd.
"We have organized around 40 machines to harvest 200,000 mu (13,333 hectares) of cotton fields in Puhui. This is a major cotton-growing base. It is not cost-effective for farmers to obtain machines from other regions for their fields. To address this challenge, we connect machine manufacturers with farmers to provide them with the most advanced machines. In the (Korla) region, whether it is wheat, corn, or cotton, nearly the entire farming process is mechanized. (Some machines) are equipped with QR codes for backstage monitoring, allowing us to track their location and identify any operational issues. When a problem occurs, our maintenance team will promptly address it to enhance the machine's efficiency."

SOUNDBITE 6 (Chinese) MAHMUT IMIN, Local farmer
"This year, I planted 600 mu (40 hectares) of cotton, and now it's harvest time. Hand-picking took roughly a month to harvest the 600 mu of my cotton field. Now, with the cotton harvester, the job can be done in just two days. Selling the cotton has also increased my income."

SOUNDBITE 7 (Chinese) AHMATJAN AMUDULLA, Local farmer
"I have 20 mu (1.33 hectares) of cotton, and now it's being harvested by a cotton harvester. If we picked it by hand, starting around September 20th, it would last until the end of October.  And we had to weigh the cotton manually. Now, with the cotton harvester,  it's much more convenient for us. Even spraying pesticides is much faster now, a lot more convenient than before."

As farming becomes more mechanized, the demand for machinery professionals continues to grow.

SOUNDBITE 8 (Chinese): QAYSAJAN ABDUREYIMU, Local farmer
"Because I'm a farmer, I need to operate machines in the fields. So, I enrolled in a training school to get my tractor and cotton harvester licenses. Operating the machinery has made things more convenient for me and has also increased my income. In the future, I plan to get a drone operator's license, as well as licenses for forklifts and excavators, to further improve my skills and boost my earnings."

The mechanization of cotton harvesting has allowed farmers to manage much larger areas with ease.

At the same time, it has also empowered farmers to develop more advanced skills. This technological shift is benefiting all parties involved, including farmers, workers, and consumers.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Korla, China.
(XHTV)