Ancient rice strain back on Chinese tables

NANCHANG - The mountainous terrain of Jiangxi province in eastern China is the birthplace of rice cultivation, which dates back to around 10,000 years ago.

In 1995, archaeologists tested phytoliths - microscopic pieces of silica found in plants that persist in the soil long after the plant has died and decayed - found in Wannian county in eastern Jiangxi. They concluded that Wannian was the first place in the world where rice was cultivated as a crop.

"Wannian rice is remarkably old, a prototype variety if you like," said Wang Bingwan, former head of the county museum, who took part in the research.

At Wannian, about 20 hectares of rice paddies have been earmarked for the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems Program by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

Wannian rice contains genes that resist disease and insects, and is especially resistant to cold, said Wang.

"It is a location-specific variety from Heqiao village in Peimei township. Scientists tried to grow it elsewhere, but its genetic qualities changed with the environment," he said.

The 20 hectares have been taken over by the local government. It allocates plots to farmers who live in Heqiao and nearby Longgang village.

Since 2013, the grain-processing company the Jiangxi Wannian Rice Group has bought rice from the farmers there for three times the price of ordinary rice.

It takes about 175 days from April to October for the rice to mature, said Shi Guozhao, a manager with the group.

"Farmers harvest the rice by hand. And fertilizer and pesticides are banned, so the yields are small. The only thing farmers do is plant the rice and harvest. They do not spend much time in the fields," he said. "Some of grain is kept for R&D, and the rest is sold.

"The most important thing is to keep the genes of the rice intact."

Shao Yanlin lives in Heqiao and has been a rice farmer since his youth.

The 63-year-old owns a piece of land on the plains where it is easier to grow rice, but his family also has land in the mountains, near the protected rice fields.

Shao previously paid very little attention to the mountain plot, saying it was colder and wetter in the mountains than on the plains. There is also less sunshine.

He used to say that the mountains only offer one annual harvest, while the plains offer two.

But Shao's views began to change last year after businessman Luo Huimin rented 66 hectares of rice paddies on the mountain to begin rice cultivation.

"The Chinese now value quality, and they are happy to buy good rice, free of fertilizer, even if it costs more," said Luo.

Luo's rice costs 10 times more than ordinary rice. He expects his rice to be organically certified by the end of the year.

"It is now possible to promote environmentally friendly farming while catering to the needs of the market," said Luo, adding that he also plans to get into ecotourism in Wannian.

"People love to see the old rice-planting tradition. I bet a child would love to get into a paddy field and try planting rice," he said.

Wannian has 42,000 hectares of farmland, 5 percent of which is green or organic rice fields.

Head of the local agriculture bureau, Chen Zhangxin, said: "We plan to expand high-quality rice cultivation in Wannian."

Xinhua