Rudong county, Nantong plans to develop an industrial chain for selenium-rich food consisting of local farmers, food enterprises, processors, and fertilizer providers, according to a seminar on the development of selenium-rich food held in the county on March 30.

The complete industrial chain is expected to make locals healthier, increase incomes for farmers, enhance the quality of agricultural products, and improve the performance of enterprises.

Rudong has been named a national demonstration county for food production. It cultivates 840,000 mu (56,000 hectares) of wheat, over 100,000 mu of maize, and 200,000 mu of cereals per year. However, few of the crops are rich in selenium.

Shuangdian town, Rudong became a leader in the production of selenium-rich rice in 2001, but the industry has not seen much development around the county. After the outbreak of novel coronavirus, Rudong began focusing more on selenium-rich food, as selenium helps improve immunity and a lack of selenium has been proved to contribute to over 40 types of diseases.

Feng Zhifang, general manager of the county's first food company to begin developing selenium-rich food, was invited to the seminar to discuss her experiences. She has promoted selenium-rich rice, selenium-rich cereal, and selenium-rich rice cakes over the past few years, all of which have become popular with consumers.

"I have decided to cultivate 50 mu of selenium-rich rice this year and will expand the planting area next year if I succeed," said Wang Haiqing, owner of a local family farm.

Selenium-rich rice promoted by an agricultural technology company in Rudong has proved popular among local residents. [Photo/ntfabu.com]