Maoming's Aotou town was recently recognized as a provincial-level professional rice town by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Aotou boasts extremely fertile soil, and rice grown in the area is noted for its strong flavor.

In recent years, the town has been expanding its rice plantation and production scale by relying on a management and business model known as "leading rice enterprises + cooperatives + industrial bases + farmers". It has also been improving services by strengthening the training of farmers, standardizing green rice plantation and sales, and introducing advanced agricultural equipment such as mechanical harvesting and heat pump drying.

A farmer in Aotou town, Maoming is harvesting rice. [Photo/Maoming Daily]

Currently, Aotou town's rice planting area is 45,000 mu (3,000 hectares), and its rice industry output value is 93.54 million yuan ($14.64 million), accounting for 30.72 percent of the town's total agricultural output value. The rice industry has increased farmer incomes by 18,600 yuan.