In February 2025, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs（MARA） officially released the Guidelines for Promoting Ratoon Rice Development (2025–2030). The document makes it clear that, starting in 2025, the Ministry will accelerate the integration of improved varieties and cultivation techniques, advance the synergy of agricultural machinery and agronomy, and strengthen policy support in rice-growing areas characterized by “insufficient for double cropping, but more than enough for single cropping.” The aim is to promote the stable and sustainable development of ratoon rice and to expand the planting area by about 10 million mu (≈667,000 hectares) by 2030, thereby further enhancing China’s rice production capacity.

This is the first time that the agricultural authorities have explicitly set a target for the expansion of ratoon rice since the 2023 Central Document No. 1 called for “stabilizing double-cropping rice production in the south and developing ratoon rice according to local conditions.” It marks a new stage in the development of the ratoon rice industry in China.

Policy Guidance: From “Marginalized” to a “Strategic Crop”

The Guidelines establish an implementation framework built on phased objectives, region-specific tasks, and factor-specific breakthroughs. It focuses on five core areas—variety breeding, agricultural machinery, cultivation technology, infrastructure, and policy support—setting out a full value chain of problems and solutions to guide local authorities in strengthening ratoon rice production.

Professor Peng Shaobing of Huazhong Agricultural University highlighted that the policy’s release is a milestone. In the past, ratoon rice was marginalized due to unstable yields and limited suitability for mechanization. Now, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs explicitly setting an expansion target, the crop has been elevated to a strategic level. This “policy baton” provides systematic support to drive the industry’s development.

Technological Breakthroughs: Integrated Innovation Unlocks Yield Potential

According to Zhang Weijian, researcher at the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, ratoon rice is cultivated by utilizing the tiller buds on the stubble of the first-season rice. Under suitable environmental conditions and careful field management, the buds regrow to form a short-growth-period second crop. In southern China’s “insufficient for double cropping, but more than enough for single cropping” rice regions, ratoon rice enables “one planting, two harvests,” making full use of light and heat resources, reducing labor input, and increasing grain output.

Data show that with scientific practices such as two cycles of mid-season field drying, timely nitrogen application, and determining stubble height according to local conditions and variety type, yields of ratoon crops have significantly increased. In November 2024, a demonstration site in Fengcheng, Jiangxi Province, recorded an average ratoon yield of 8,989.05 kg per hectare, combined with a first-season yield of 12,367.50 kg per hectare, for an annual total of 21,356.55 kg per hectare—a national record for ratoon rice. By comparison, the current national average for ratoon-season yields is only about 3,750 kg per hectare, indicating vast room for improvement.

Professor Peng Shaobing noted three advantages of ratoon rice compared to conventional rice:

1. Lower production costs. With “one planting, two harvests,” seed costs are saved, reducing expenses by about USD 400 per hectare. Land preparation, seeding, and transplanting are carried out only once, further lowering labor costs.

2. Better grain quality in the second season. The lower temperatures during the grain-filling stage of the ratoon crop lead to fuller grains, and the ratoon season generally requires little to no pesticide use. As a result, grain safety and economic returns are improved.

3. Environmental benefits. The in-situ return of rice straw helps address pollution problems associated with open-field burning.

Industrial Upgrading: A Whole-Chain Effort to Break Development Bottlenecks

Currently, China’s ratoon rice planting area has exceeded 15 million mu (≈1 million hectares), mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Southwest, and South China, with considerable growth potential. However, the crop still faces challenges, particularly extreme weather and limited mechanization adoption.

According to Zhang Weijian, high temperatures and drought in some regions can reduce the quality of the first season crop and the yields of ratoon rice. In hilly and mountainous areas where ratoon rice is grown, complex terrain makes mechanized production difficult. Moreover, during mechanical harvesting of the first-season crop, high rates of plant crushing further reduce ratoon yields.

He suggested advancing ratoon rice by focusing on variety breeding, machinery development, and technology integration—specifically: developing high-yield, high-quality, and machine-harvestable ratoon varieties; designing lighter harvesters with lower crushing rates; and integrating technologies such as factory seedling raising, mechanical transplanting, optimized water and fertilizer management, and rational stubble retention.

References

1. China aims to expand ratoon rice planting area by about 10 million mu by 2030

2. How can ratoon rice “regenerate gold”? Expert advice from Huazhong Agricultural University

3. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs deploys work on ratoon rice development