Farmers explore innovative ways to boost income

By Chen Si, Yichang International Communication Studio

Yichang has undertaken new initiatives in the advancement of agricultural features, which have yielded favorable outcomes.

The cultivation of gardenias in Jinfu village, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, has a history of over 50 years. However, the economic gains from the gardenia industry have primarily relied on the gardenia fruit, while only a small amount of gardenia flowers have been utilized solely for decoration and medicinal purposes.

The Linjun Tea Professional Cooperative is buying gardenia petals that have been picked by farmers.

In 2014, the Linjun Tea Professional Cooperative in the village started combining gardenia with tea and began exploring the process of making gardenia tea. By 2019, the process had matured and they started receiving orders.

The combination of gardenia and tea has become very popular, leading to a significant increase in orders. This year, the orders have reached 200 tonnes, compared to the initial 20 tonnes. The value of gardenia petals has also doubled, providing local flower farmers with an additional source of income.

At the granary tea purchasing point, villagers simply pick gardenia petals from the ground and transport them to sell. On average, 1 mu (0.07 hectare) of land can yield 300 kilograms of gardenia flowers, allowing farmers to earn more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,380) per mu from both the flowers and the fruit.

Duzhenwan Town is currently an important origin of gardenia in Hubei province. The town's gardenia planting covers 20 villages, with a total area of more than 40,000 mu, and has established 23,000 mu of standard gardens.

This year, the gardenia flower tea market is booming, and the comprehensive output value of the gardenia industry has exceeded 100 million yuan.

In addition to gardenia, the fruit industry is also an innovative way to increase agricultural income in Yichang.

Dianjun District is the main production area of characteristic fruits in Yichang. In the orchard of Hanjiaba Village, a new variety of yellow peach Golden Honey has been put on sale. Normally, yellow peaches are available for sale in early June, but this early-maturing variety will ripen in late May.



"We planted about 2 mu, and this variety has a minimum income of more than 40,000 yuan a year," said Long Sheng, the person in charge of a fruit picking garden where Golden Honey is grown.
 
In a family farm in Tianwangsi Village, a new variety of juicy peach has also ripen. Its unusually high sweetness and long shelf-life made it very popular in the market.



Currently, the cultivation area of special fruits in Dianjun District has expanded to 3,500 mu, with an expected total output of over 4,000 tonnes this year.