High-mountain vegetable planting across 600,000 mu boosts income for 100,000 farming households

Reported by our journalist Luo Yun. The journalist recently learned from the Municipal Agriculture Commission that this year, the 600,000 mu of high-mountain vegetables planted in Chongqing not only enriched citizens' vegetable baskets in summer and autumn, but also boosted income for 100,000 farming households.

It is understood that when vegetable bases in low-altitude areas of Chongqing were rotating crops and vegetables from outside the city were affected in transport due to high temperatures, the high-mountain vegetable bases located in southeast Chongqing and northeast Chongqing became the main force ensuring the supply of the main city's “vegetable basket.” Taking Wulong County as an example, the county ships more than 2,000 tons of vegetables to the main city every day, accounting for about 30% of the main city's supply. Besides the traditional “three whites” of lotus cabbage, Chinese cabbage and white radish, there are also 17 varieties including tomato, cucumber, chili pepper and leaf lettuce.

Chen Meixiang of Qiaozi Village, Mugen Township, Wulong County, told the journalist that 10 years ago her family planted seven or eight mu of the “three whites.” When the market was sluggish, lotus cabbage sold for only 0.2 yuan per kg, and the seven or eight mu of land brought in a total income of just over 10,000 yuan. Since 2010, under the guidance of vegetable experts from the Municipal Academy of Agricultural Sciences, she and other villagers gradually switched to varieties such as cucumber and tomato, and 3 mu of tomatoes can bring in an income of 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

Fan Guochang, deputy director of the Wulong County Agriculture Commission, said that 17 villages in the county have escaped poverty by growing high-mountain vegetables.

“Through industrial restructuring, the high-mountain vegetable poverty alleviation industry, while ensuring market supply, also provides sustained development momentum for farmers in areas at altitudes of 800 m to 2,000 m, especially poor households,” said Liu Baoguo, chief agronomist of the Municipal Agriculture Commission.

Qiu Ning, deputy director of the Vegetable Development Division of the Municipal Agriculture Commission, said that at present, the city's high-mountain vegetable planting area has exceeded 600,000 mu, benefiting more than 100,000 farming households. It is expected that by 2020, the city's planting area will reach 800,000 mu, of which the base area will reach 400,000 mu, and the proportion of fine vegetables such as solanaceous fruits, melons, beans and loose-leaf vegetables will exceed 50%.