Millet from Yanchi

Millet from Yanchi

Millet from Yanchi is a geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Millet from Yanchi is a specialty of Yanchi County, Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Each year, Yanchi County utilizes 350,000 mu of pollution-free farmland to grow organic small grains, primarily millet, establishing a brand for non-polluting, green, and healthy small grain products. Millet from Yanchi is a nationally protected geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Small grains such as buckwheat, foxtail millet, millet, mung beans, and peas grown on 40% of Yanchi County’s farmland benefit from ample sunlight, large diurnal temperature variations, and a pollution-free environment, resulting in high quality and rich nutritional content including protein and dietary fiber. These products are sold to major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

　　In 2014, “Millet from Yanchi,” applied for by the Yanchi County Seed Management Station, passed the review by the Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and expert evaluation, and was registered and protected as a national geographical indication agricultural product.

　　Region: Ningxia

　　Applicant: Yanchi County Seed Management Station

　　Year: 2014

　　Geographical Scope

　　The geographical indication protection area for Millet from Yanchi includes 98 administrative villages across eight towns in Yanchi County: Huamachi Town, Dashuikeng Town, Hui’anpu Town, Gaoshawo Town, Fengjigou Township, Qingshan Township, Wanglejing Township, and Mahuangshan Township. The protected area lies between 106°33′–107°47′ east longitude and 37°04′–38°10′ north latitude, stretching 110 km from north to south and 66 km from east to west. The total planting area is 5,000 hectares, with an annual yield of 1,500 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Sensory Characteristics: Millet from Yanchi is an annual herbaceous cereal crop composed of roots, stems, leaves, inflorescences, and caryopses (seeds). The stem is upright and green, divided into main stems, tillers, and branches. The leaves are green, and the millet spike is a panicle consisting of a central axis and branches. Millet seeds come in three shapes: spherical, oblong, and oval. The seeds measure 2.5–3.2 mm in length, 2.0–2.6 mm in width, and 1.4–2.0 mm in thickness, with a thousand-seed weight of 3–10 g. Seed colors include yellow, red, white, black, brown, gray, and mixed hues. The rice color ranges from deep yellow to light yellow. Once the outer and inner glumes are removed, it is commonly known as yellow rice.   2. Internal Quality Characteristics: Millet from Yanchi is highly nutritious. After hulling, the millet becomes yellow rice, containing 1.7–2.0% crude fat and 0.4–0.6% crude fiber.   3. Safety Requirements: The production environment strictly adheres to the standards outlined in the "Technical Specifications for the Production Environment of Non-polluting Field Crops" (NY5332-2006).   ① Phosphides, cyanides, nitrogen compounds, and carbon dioxide comply with the relevant regulations of GB/T5009.36.   ② Aflatoxin B1 complies with the relevant regulations of GB/T5009.22.   ③ Mercury complies with the regulations of GB/T5009.11.   ④ Arsenic complies with the regulations of GB/T5009.11.   ⑤ Hygiene standards follow GB2715-81 and GB2761-81.