The Maoming Modern Agricultural Industrial Park was included on the third batch of the 38 national modern agricultural industrial parks, which was released by the development planning division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Dec 14.

The industrial park covers 11 towns in its three counties and districts, with a total planning area of 1.43 million mu (95,333 hectares). Its total output value reached 13.53 billion yuan ($2.07 billion), of which its leading industry, lychees, has an output value of 10.19 billion yuan, accounting for 75.29 percent of the industrial park's total.

Maoming Modern Agricultural Industrial Park. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

The application for being upgraded into a national modern agricultural industrial park was made in 2018.

After two years of development, the lychee industry in Maoming is now leading in China, renowned for its advanced technology and equipment, as well as its outstanding achievements in green development.

A total of 58.81 million yuan in scientific research funds have been put into the city's lychee industry since the beginning of this year, a year-on-year increase of 146.05 percent.

The city has reached cooperation with 15 scientific research units at or above the provincial level, formulating and publishing multiple local standards for lychees.

Two smart lychee gardens and one information management platform have been built in Maoming, along with the application of equipment like plant protection UAVs and lifters. The Guowang Lychee Smart Garden is the nation's first smart lychee garden, which played an important role in overcoming the shortage of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the comprehensive utilization rate of agricultural waste resources in the industrial park reached 90.62 percent, while the use of pesticides and fertilizers has decreased.

The history of lychee planting in Maoming can be traced back to over 2,100 years ago. It now has been developed into the world's largest lychee production base.

Its current lychee cultivation area spans about 1.36 million mu, accounting for one fifth of the world's total lychee cultivation area. The city's lychee production this year is about 520,000 metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 18.18 percent.