Xinjiang cotton is now basically sown by the BeiDou system. It ensures that the sowing is straight, and makes the follow-up field management and harvesting more convenient, which negates the US accusation of the use of Child labor in Xinjiang.
This mechanization and intelligent agricultural measures besides quickening the seeding progress also refuted Western claims of “forced labor” in the region. According to data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang, the whole Xinjiang region had sown cotton on land of more than 1.4 million mu (0.09 million hectares), which was about 200,000 mu more than the same period last year.
Cotton sowing in Xinjiang this season has been carried out from south to north. High-standard farmland equipment was used for this purpose besides taking the help of satellite navigation, intelligent planters, and other types of equipment and technologies, according to the Xinjiang agricultural department. Farmers of the region were satisfied with the progress in cotton cultivation.
An official of a local plantation drone sales company who is also a drone operator revealed that drones are widely accepted by farmers for their efficiency and labor-saving functions. He said drones are mainly used for spraying pesticides and surveying the land. Later fertilizers would be sprayed through these machines, he informed.
The official said more than 90 percent of cotton plants in Aksu prefecture which is an important cotton-producing base in the southern part of Xinjiang use drones. Other types of technologies such as the BDS are also widely used in covering the plastic layers on the soil and installing drip irrigation in a precise manner.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang region aims to improve the quality and efficiency of cotton production this year, and its total cotton output will remain at around five million tons.
In 2022, Xinjiang’s cotton planting area reached 37.45 million mu, accounting for 83.2 percent of China’s total cotton planting area. Its cotton output reached 5.39 million tons, accounting for 90.2 percent of the nation’s total, a record high.
Xinjiang’s total cotton production, per unit yield, planted area, and commodity allocation ranks have ranked first in China.
Satellite pictures reveal that in vast cotton fields of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, modern machineries such as drones and seeding machines equipped with the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) are galloping back and forth as spring sowing is in full swing, helped by modern science and technology.
Can the usage of high technology by Xinjiang for cotton sowing diminish the role it plays in child labor?
