Cottoning on to tech

He is the kind of man who is bold but cautious. Rehim took out all his savings and loaned 40,000 yuan for a contract of planting 100 mu of cotton. That year, selling cotton not only got him a loan, but also helped him pull some good money. Rehim's first taste of success strengthened his resolve to grow cotton. For more than 10 years, he has been devoted throughout, and expanding his cotton fields steadily. This year, he has planted 550 mu. With more experiences in growing cotton, he has become the center of attention in the county.

In 2017, the government gave great impetus to land transfer in Yuli county, a major cotton-producing hub in Xinjiang renowned for its high-quality commodity cotton. The county has been planting cotton since the 1980s with planting technology developing toward refinement and modernization. They speed up agriculture mechanization by the years in steps from planting, drone spraying to picking. The comprehensive cotton planting cost decreased by 570 yuan per mu, and the seed cotton yield increased by 100 kg per mu.

Although manual picking gets him purer cotton, it costs more. Rehim, who has learnt the power of cotton picking machines, made up his mind to plant and harvest cotton varieties with cotton pickers. "Nowadays, cotton pickers are becoming more advanced, and the net picking rate is no less than that of manual picking. Even if the price of cotton drops a little, it's more cost-effective than picking by hand. It also saves water, pesticides and seeds. It is much easier to grow cotton than before," he says. In addition to planting cotton, he has also raised 38 cows and more than 100 sheep to diversify his family income.