HAIKOU, April 20. /TASS/. Hainan will increase the acreage for rice cultivation by 2.02% – up to 132, 200 hectares in 2020, according the Hainan Daily.

According to the news outlet, the local government has set the task to increase the cultivated area for grain to 287,000 ha in 2020 (an increase of 350 ha). According to the newspaper, the authorities also plan to take measures to protect the crop from insects.

At present, 113 varieties of rice are cultivated on the Island of Hainan with the use of dry land method, and irrigation systems for torrential production are also under development. In particular, in the urban district of Wenchang there are two experimental farms practicing rice cultivation with the use of torrential method.

The Chinese scientists have also created an experimental plantation on Hainan for experiments on the cultivation of "saltwater rice", which has salt tolerant properties. Scientists often use the term “saltwater rice” among themselves, but this name is unofficial, as, strictly speaking, it does not grow directly in the ocean. This breed grows and survives in the salt marsh - the soil, the top layer of which is characterized by the presence of readily-soluble salts, where most crops would die.

The scientific research base will be located in Wenchang County in Puqian and Jinshan areas. These areas were severely damaged by typhoon Rammasun in 2014: due to the storms, a large number of fertile lands was contaminated with salt and the lands' fertility decreased significantly. Currently, 24, 700 hectares of rural lands remain abandoned.