On March 16, a spring ploughing ceremony was held in Pargaxoi Village, Dargye Town of Dagze District, Lhasa City, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Tenzin]

In the early warming, farmers and herdsmen in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region ushered in another busy season, leveling land, plowing, fertilizing, sowing and so on, with lively scenes everywhere.

On the morning of March 16, a spring ploughing ceremony kicked off in Sherong Village of Caina Town, Quxu County of Lhasa City, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. During the ceremony, villagers offered khata (traditional Tibetan ceremonial scarf), Qiema, highland barley wine and buttered tea to ploughmen, and threw Zanba (roasted highland barley flour) into the air, praying for a bumper grain harvest in the new year.

"It's a good time for spring ploughing and sowing. The village party branch and village committee actively organize villagers to prevent and control the epidemic, and ensure spring ploughing as well as production. This year, the village plans to plant 2 km² of highland barley," says Tenzin Tsering, director of the village committee. "With the smooth advance of spring sowing work, this year's harvest will be definitely good!"

Tenzin Tsering introduces that, since winter sowing in 2019, the whole village has implemented trusteeship of key agricultural production links, which has changed from the original smallholder production mode to a centralized and large-scale production mode relying on local planting cooperative. "It's conducive to resource allocation, seizing the opportunity of grain production in time for farmers and herdsmen, and achieving large-scale benefits."

Lhasa City holds spring sowing ceremonies from March 16 this year, and begins to sow from west to east on March 25, which is expected to end in mid or late May. The city plans to plant 381.8 km² of spring crops.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Tibet, the region will build 50 km² of high-standard farmland in 2020, keep 1,400 km² of highland barley planting area, and stabilize grain output at over 1 million tons.