Fish Mint Revitalizes Dangyang's Economy

By Shen Yuan, Yichang International Communication Studio

Planting fish mint in Lianghe Town, Dangyang County, Yichang City, has become a thriving venture, boosting the local economy during the most recent peak season.

Previously, growing fish mint in arid lands with continuous cropping led to decreasing yields year after year. Consequently, each fish mint season required one or two years of rotation with other crops.

In 2018, Shi Fengbo, a villager from Zhaozha Village, experimented with utilizing paddy fields during their fallow seasons to cultivate fish mint. Surprisingly, the crop flourished, yielding an average of 5,000 kilograms per "mu" (666 square meters).

Not only did fish mint face fewer pest and disease issues when grown in paddy fields, but the roots also exhibited better qualities and characteristics than those grown on dry land. "They are less fishy, straight, and white, while also being more tender and crunchy to eat," Shi said.

Since 2022, the practice of planting rice in the summer and fish mint in the fall has spread across Dangyang.

Currently, the purchase price of fish mint stands at 4.4 yuan (US$0.6) per kilogram, exceeding the prices for dry land cultivation by 1.6 yuan. Last year, Shi utilized 8 mu of paddy fields to plant one season of rice, followed by one season of fish mint cultivation, resulting in a net income of 400,000 yuan.

According to statistics, Lianghe Town comprises of 1,667 hectares of fish mint cultivation, with an average annual household income reaching 80,000 yuan.

The fish mint produced in Dangyang is now being sold across more than 20 provinces in China. The town has been recognized as the "Home of fish mint in China" by the China Vegetable Marketing Association.
 

Hubei Daily’s Wu Jian contributed to this report.