Small fruits drive growth of agricultural industry in Wenchuan, SW China

Farmers pick plums on their farmland in Wenchuan county, southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department of the CPC Wenchuan County Committee]

Fruit trees have become a cash cow for farmers in Wenchuan, southwest China's Sichuan province as their flowers turn into tourist attractions in the spring and their fruits generate considerable earnings for the growers.

Recently, farmers have been busy picking and selling the locally grown fruits. Chen Hongli, a plum grower, said the production of plums from her orchard could reach as much as 10,000 kg a year. "We sell most of our fruits on WeChat," said Chen, adding that she had established a stable sales channel on the platform.

In helping farmers sell fruits online, Wenchuan has opened an e-commerce training center, provided guidance to people on how to open and run online shops, issued supportive policies, and allocated special funds to support the sector. To support the e-commerce sector, Wencuan has built a storage area covering 17,000 square meters and a cold-chain storage area covering 6,340 square meters.

Li Changlei is head of the e-commerce department for a local food company. The man said they collected plums from fruit growers right after they picked the fruits at their orchards. "We have delivered several thousand kilograms of plums to clients each day recently," Li said.

At the end of 2020, the planting area for fruits in Wenchuan had surpassed 4,666.7 hectares. With a total yield of 90,000 tonnes, the fruits had generated 900 million yuan in income for local people.

Each and every year over the past several years, the local government has earmarked 20 million yuan in funds to consolidate the locality's foundations for continued agricultural development and to better enhance guarantees for receiving all the necessary factors of production.

The locality has developed a transport vehicle to assist farmers in carrying fruits along rural roads. The lightweight, flexible yet powerful vehicle is widely used in Wenchuan, freeing farmers from carrying the fruits on their own backs.