Blueberry Village Embraces a New Life by Growing Blueberries

On June 23, Wang Heling (left), Party branch secretary of Digou Village, and villager Guo Weifu inspect the growth of blueberries. Digou Village, located by the Yalu River on the northeastern border, is known as "Blueberry Village," and its 1800 mu of blueberry planting area ranks first in Ji'an City, Jilin Province. Digou Village has 450 households, and every household is connected to blueberries. The area began large-scale blueberry cultivation in 2011, with production and sales rising year by year and villagers' wallets growing steadily fuller. Party branch secretary Wang Heling said: "2016 is a bumper year; we estimate we can harvest nearly 500,000 kg and sell it for more than 1 million yuan." It is understood that of Digou Village's 1800 mu of blueberry fields, 1200 mu belong to a village collective economic project. Villagers contract their land to the village, and in addition to earning wages for weeding and fertilizing in the fields, they can also receive a farmland outsourcing subsidy equal to 20% of total blueberry profits and dividends equal to 30% of the total.

Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Haofei