Villagers collect straws in a highland barley field in Bianlin Township, Lhunzhub County of Lhasa, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Sept. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Chogo)

LHASA, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The grain output in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region hit a new high of more than 1.07 million tonnes in 2022, surpassing the 1-million-tonne mark for an eighth consecutive year, new data showed.

The output increased by 11,500 tonnes from 2021, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The planting area of improved varieties of highland barley, a long-established Tibetan grain, grew to 2.02 million mu (about 134,667 hectares) this year as the region has continued to protect and improve its highland barley varieties. The coverage rate of improved highland barley varieties rose 1.3 percentage points year on year to hit 92.1 percent.

Tibet has continued its efforts to protect farmland this year, and there are now 200 high-yield demonstration areas for highland barley in the region.