Diversification of industry powers ahead with rural development

Villagers pick yellow peaches at the yellow peach base in Miping township. [Photo/WeChat account of Kaiyang county]

In recent years, Miping township in Kaiyang county, Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, has made the most of its resources to develop agriculture.

So far, the township has built 15 mu (1 hectare) of yellow peach seedling area and 3,050 mu of yellow peaches, including 23 excellent varieties. The growth of yellow peach industry has increased local employment and villagers' incomes. Yuan Mingju, a local villager, said that the yellow peach base needs laborers every season. Working at the base adds 20,000 yuan ($2,758) to her annual income.

Leveraging the 3,050 mu of yellow peaches, the township has striven to develop a forestry derived economy. Efforts have been made to optimize the agricultural industry structure and explore "intercropping" models by promoting composite planting methods such as "yellow peach + pineapple", "yellow peach + sweet potato", and "yellow peach + pumpkin".

These efforts aim to continually improve land use efficiency and productivity, maximizing the potential of the land. The goal is to achieve dual or multiple harvests from a single piece of land, thereby promoting agricultural output.

It has been reported that over 800 mu of the yellow peach base in this township have been intercropped with sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and pineapples. This initiative has created jobs for over 200 local laborers, helping to increase the community's prosperity and supporting rural vitalization.