Xinhua Net and Yingxiang Net—The 2016 Henan Grain King Competition Kicks Off, with a Top Prize of 66,666 Yuan

Yingxiang Net Flash News (Reporter Wang Shaoyi, text and photos) Henan is China’s undisputed leading grain-producing province and has long been renowned for the saying, “When Henan prospers, the whole nation is well fed.”

To showcase the progress of strengthening Henan’s agriculture, enriching its farmers, and beautifying its rural areas, the “2016 Henan Grain King Competition” was jointly organized by Henan TV’s New Rural Channel, in collaboration with the Henan Daily’s Rural Edition, Yingxiang.com, Dongfang Jinbao, and numerous other provincial media outlets, under the guidance of the Henan Provincial Department of Agriculture, the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Henan Agricultural University. The competition’s launch ceremony was held on the morning of March 10 at the Yellow River Scenic Area in Zhengzhou.

Li Xin, a researcher at the Planting Industry Management Division of the Henan Provincial Department of Agriculture; Guo Tiancai, Director of the National Wheat Research Center; Hou Chuanwei, Director of the Institute of Cereal Crops at the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences; and other agricultural experts attended the event to lend their support to the competition’s launch ceremony.

Henan, the “granary,” is hosting its first Grain King competition, which will be held across four regional divisions.

It is reported that the central grain-producing region is a key base for grain production and commercial grain supply in China. Its spatial location and layout—connecting the east to the west and featuring contiguous production areas—determine its strategic importance in safeguarding national food security.

The “2016 Henan Grain King Competition” was organized as a nationwide, five-province collaborative initiative, launching simultaneously in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Anhui, and Hubei to identify the leading province in grain‑production base development. As the nation’s “granary,” Henan Province participated in the Grain King Competition for the first time.

This competition divides Henan Province into four sub‑regions: the Northeast Henan Region (including Anyang, Hebi, and Puyang), the Northwest Henan Region (including Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Jiyuan, Luoyang, and Sanmenxia), the Central Henan Region (including Xuchang, Shangqiu, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Zhoukou), and the South Henan Region (including Pingdingshan, Nanyang, Zhumadian, and Xinyang).

Summer corn has been added as a competition event, open to farmers across the province.

The “2016 Henan Grain King Competition” will commence with the sowing of summer corn in 2016 and proceed through the stages of summer corn planting, field management, and autumn harvest. Finally, the organizing committee will convene experts to conduct surveys for yield estimation, theoretical yield assessments, and on-site verification of actual yields.

According to the competition rules, the 2016 Grain King Contest will evaluate participants based on summer corn yield per mu. Open to all summer corn growers across the province, the contest will combine recommendations from the agricultural bureaus of each county (city, district) with voluntary applications from farmers. Any farmer or organization cultivating a contiguous area of at least three mu of corn and projecting a yield of 900 kilograms per mu is eligible to enter. At year’s end, one Henan Grain King will be selected, receiving a prize of 66,666 yuan; three regional champions will each receive 9,999 yuan; and four runners-up and four third-place winners in each region will each be awarded one ton of fertilizer.

Following the launch ceremony, Professor Ye Youliang of Henan Agricultural University and an expert with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Soil Testing and Formula Fertilization Group delivered a special lecture on scientific fertilization practices to boost grain yields. In addition, relevant experts from the Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Henan Agricultural University will visit farmers’ fields to provide guidance on how to increase grain production.

A responsible official from the New Rural Channel of Henan Television stated that the “2016 Henan Grain King Competition” is a highly influential national brand event in the “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” sector. It will undoubtedly serve as a powerful catalyst for ensuring food security in our province, advancing modern agricultural development, and promoting new‑rural construction, while also becoming a leading banner for achieving higher grain yields and increased production across the province.