"It's evident that the land using the Lishu model has darkened, the root mass has increased and the organic matter in the soil has risen from 1.7 to 3.4 percent, resulting in better soil and increased grain production," he said. "The yield per hectare in the areas using the Lishu model has reached over 16,500 kilograms while neighboring plots without the model typically yield around 10,500 kg."

He added that Jilin would welcome a bountiful harvest with a historic grain output this year.

Jilin is an important national grain producer and one of the main locations of black soil, which is rich in organic matter and ideal for growing crops.

According to data from the National Plan for Soil and Water Conservation (2015-30), 109 million hectares of the soil, including around 29 million hectares of farmland, are in the northeast region of China, spanning the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and the eastern part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

According to the Guideline on Protecting Black Soil in Northeast China (2017-30), excessive exploitation in recent decades has resulted in the erosion of black soil, threatening biological diversity and sustainable food production.