Tian’e’s ecological industry increases farmers’ incomes

In recent years, Tian’e county in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has promoted black fungus, lucid ganoderma and other ecological industries through farmer cooperatives to increase local farmers’ incomes.

Ya Guibao is a farmer in Linlie village, Xiangyang town, Tian’e county. He has been working for others to earn a living for his family due to the shortage of land resources in his village.

At the beginning of this year, he joined in Xiangyang town’s Linyou Edible Fungi Farmers’ Professional Cooperative with 10 other local farmers. They have rented 22 mu (1.47 hectares) of land near Longtangou for the cultivation of high quality black fungus. Now, their annual income has reached 100,000 yuan ($16,126).

The business model of “company + cooperative + base + farmer” can maximize its financial, technological and informational advantages. Now, more than 50 farmers from Bala and Xiangyang towns have established Xiaozhai, Xinpingdong and Linyou edible fungi farmers’ professional cooperatives in Longtangou to boost the local ecological edible fungus industry.

By the end of November, cooperatives in Tian’e county had cultivated more than one million bags of black fungus, and the anticipated output of dried fungus reached 75,000 kilograms with an output value of five million yuan ($800,000). The income of cooperatives’ members has also been increased.

Relying on its ecological resources, Tian’e county has developed edible fungi and lucid ganoderma ecological industries into major local projects. Now, Tian’e has cultivated 10 million bags of edible fungi such as black fungus, bamboo fungus, lucid ganoderma and so on. The cultivated area has covered nine towns, 14 cooperatives and 432 farmer households with an estimated output value of 50 million yuan. This project will increase the incomes of local farmers by 338 yuan per capita.

Edited by Feng Lu and Brian Salter