Farmers in Bijie City of southwest China's Guizhou Province are seizing the clear weather to rush-harvest their grain and fruit crops, as the autumn harvest is in full swing across the bulk of the country.
At Qixingguan District of Bijie City, farmers are reaping the benefits of contract-based farming, where they can sell their produce wholesale to companies at above-market prices before cultivation begins. This approach prevents haphazard production and effectively mitigates various risks.
This year, the district's contract-based sorghum cultivation covers an acreage of over 46,000 mu (about 3,067 hectares).
"I've grown 48.2 mu of sorghum this year, with a total output of around 15,000 kilograms. My income is expected to be about 100,000 to 110,000 yuan (about 14,058-15,464 U.S. dollars). I feel happy whenever I see those sorghum panicles full of grain," said Yu Youkang, a sorghum grower from Longchangying Town, Qixingguan District.
Another large-scale sorghum grower, Yang Changxue, and his wife are currently threshing sorghum at home. They fed the freshly harvested sorghum panicles into a thresher, and in no time, grains covered the entire courtyard.
"Thanks to ample rainfall this year, my output reached over 10,000 kilograms. The yield is quite satisfactory, and the returns are indeed good," Yang said.
Various sorghum purchasing stations have also begun their procurement activities. At a sorghum processing and purchasing center in Qixingguan, plump sorghum grains are inspected, machine-screened, weighed, and finally packaged for storage.
"I've grown 750 mu of sorghum this year under a contract with an agricultural company. The agreed price is 7.6 yuan per kilogram, which I find quite favorable, which I find quite favorable," said Xiao Mingcai, a sorghum grower from Xiaojichang Town, Qixingguan District.
This year, Qixingguan District has fully leveraged its unique natural conditions featuring favorable altitude, climate and topography, as well as the water resources of the Chishui River Basin to explore a new development model for the sorghum industry centered on "family farms."
It has fostered 78 enterprises and cooperatives, along with 435 family farms, involving 5,350 households in sorghum cultivation. Each household is expected to see an average income increase of over 2,500 yuan in the year.
The sorghum procurement process across the district is underway and is expected to continue until the end of November.
In addition, the 140,000 mu of thorn pear in Qixingguan District have also ripened recently.
The local government, in recent years, has continued to advance integrated development of the thorn pear industry in production, processing, research, and sales, gradually forming a complete industrial chain. It is reported that the local thorn pear fresh fruit output is expected to reach 20,000 tons this year.
The industry has not only effectively revitalized land resources but has also helped villagers find employment close to home and increase their incomes.
Bumper harvest underway for grain, fruit farmers in southwest China's Guizhou
