Silkworm industry energizes Luocheng County

In recent days, silkworms have gradually entered the market in Hechi's Luocheng Mulam autonomous county. Their price of about 62 yuan ($9.78) per kilogram is a considerable figure and has brightened up all the farmers.

Silkworm farmers at Qunchang Farmer Professional Cooperative in Luocheng, Hechi city prepare silkworms for sale.[Photo/gx.people.com.cn]

Luocheng is a one of the key counties of the national poverty alleviation plan. In recent years, it has seized the opportunities brought by the "moving mulberries from the east to the west" campaign and developed the silkworm industry as one of its pillars to increase the income of local farmers.

The government has come up with a series of beneficial policies including handing out mulberry saplings to farmers for free and holding various training sessions on practical techniques. In addition, it encourages local people, especially those from registered low-income families, to escape poverty by getting more involved in the industry.

The silkworms [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A worker in the cooperative checks the silkworms. [Photo by Liao Guangfu/gx.xinhuanet.com]

Currently, there are 71,500 mu (4,766.67 hectares) of mulberry fields in the county and the total annual income of farmers surpasses 400 million yuan. The industry has become an important means for improving rural residents' living conditions.