A plot of high-standard farmland in Lingshi county, Shanxi province. [Photo/Shanxi Daily] 

North China's Shanxi province built and upgraded more than 1,743 square kilometers of high-standard farmland in 2023, according to the Shanxi Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Jan 15. 

The province enacted a regulation which clarifies the rules regarding the development of farmland in different terrains and regions as well as related investment standards last year, with the financial subsidy for high-standard farmland raised to 1,932 yuan ($269.81) per mu (666.67 square meters). 

Eight counties across the province were selected as pilot areas for the development of high-standard farmland. 

Yang Zhong, director of the farmland construction management office of the Shanxi Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said that the province will improve the planning system for the development of high-standard farmland at the provincial, municipal, and county levels this year. It will also promote the improvement of saline-alkali land based on the results of soil surveys, enhance the quality of arable land and grain production capacity, as well as make more efficient use of agricultural water.