BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Singing folk songs, dancing freely, making jokes: Some 10,000 farmers are trying to woo viewers via livestreaming platforms with every talent they have with one goal in mind: selling more of their homegrown fruits and vegetables.
This carnival-like activity might seem a bit untimely amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak, but it's all in good faith.
Held by China's e-commerce platform Taobao on Saturday, the so-called village livestreaming intended to help push sales of farm produce and keep the market stable.
Besides the livestreaming stunt, China is taking a raft of steps to ensure stable food supplies, incomes of farmers and steady preparation for spring plowing.
Chinese authorities have sought to ensure smooth transport of farm produce with "green channels" set up for epidemic control supplies, and urged local governments to refrain from blocking transport for food and livestock.
A farm produce sales match-making alliance was launched Monday to leverage the vast networks of related enterprises. E-commerce platform Pinduoduo, one initiator, has opened specific channels and offered traffic support as well as over 1.5 billion yuan (about 214 million U.S. dollars) in logistics and produce subsidies.
Efforts to secure the longer-term food supply are also in progress, with spring farming preparations kicking off in many parts of the country.
Chinese authorities last week stressed the organization of spring plowing to lay a solid foundation for agriculture production.
The epidemic has made sowing grain and vegetable seeds no easy task this spring, as some control measures have led to blocked transport and labor shortages in some areas, Pan Wenbo, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, told a press conference Tuesday.
The ministry has issued a notice with detailed measures to encourage farmers to prepare for spring farming. An online platform has been set up to offer farmers technical support, while fertilizer enterprises are asked to resume production in a well-organized manner.
To ease financial pressure, the country's agricultural policy bank has issued some 12 billion yuan of loans to ensure the sufficient supply of agricultural materials.
More targeted, region-specific and coordinated measures will be rolled out to support spring plowing, according to Pan.
"A missed planting season might lead to a whole year's loss," Pan said. "The plowing season waits for no man."
