10 years on, Yizhou's agricultural, rural development sees major progress

The Liu Sanjie silkworm industry demonstration zone in Shangping village, Desheng town, Yizhou district. [Photo/Guangxi Daily]

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Hechi's Yichou district has been focusing on developing competitive agricultural industries and promoting the high-quality development of agriculture and rural areas. Remarkable achievements have been made in agricultural and rural development.

In 2021, the added value of the primary industry increased by 10.4 percent year on year, while the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery increased by 11.64 percent year on year.

In recent years, Yizhou district has built characteristic agriculture demonstration areas and cooperatives for rice, silkworms, sugarcane, camellia, and pitaya. To date, out of 211 administrative villages in the district, 197 have cultivated at least one demonstration area or family farm.

The silkworm industry in Yizhou has developed rapidly. The existing mulberry garden covers an area of 380,000 mu (25,333 hectares), with an annual output of 81,800 metric tons of fresh cocoons. The mulberry garden area and silkworm cocoon output have maintained first place in the county for the past 17 years. There are 456,000 silkworm farmers in the district, accounting for 89.4 percent of the rural population. The average per capita silkworm income of farmers is more than 7,500 yuan ($1,037), providing strong support for poverty alleviation and rural vitalization.

In addition, Yizhou is focusing on grain planting pigs, poultry and beef cattle breeding, as well as growing vegetables.