MOYU, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Desertification prevention-and-control, one of the top-priority missions in Xinjiang for many years, offers extra job opportunities for local farmers in the slack season.

Braving an air temperature below the freezing point, local farmers are now busy preparing reeds and laying sand grids. Apart from consolidating the ecological security line for the neighborhood, their contribution also brings in extra income for their own families.