Guiyang and Gui'an explore rural collective economy model

Guiyang city and Gui'an New Area are pioneering an innovative rural collective economy model to boost their village economies as part of a broader rural vitalization effort.

The model encourages rural collective economic organizations to increase their collective revenue through equity participation.

Since 2022, Guiyang and Gui'an have been implementing a new approach whereby village collective economic organizations hold a controlling stake, while villagers and village officials hold the remaining shares.

The strategy is said to foster collective economic growth and diversifies local industry.  

Gaozhai village in Kaiyang county exemplifies the transformation. Once struggling, the village established a collective economic cooperative in 2019 to grow chili peppers on 80 mu (5.33 hectares) of land.

Initial efforts faced setbacks due to technical and management challenges. But in 2022, a new mixed-ownership company was formed called Guizhou Kaiyang Xinxin Industry and Trade Co, with the cooperative holding 70 percent and villagers and officials holding 30 percent.

The company now efficiently manages 540 mu of chili peppers, demonstrating the success of the model.

The involvement of the villagers is widely said to have significantly increased the overall productivity and enthusiasm of the entire operation.

The chili plantation has expanded to over 1,200 mu – integrating planting, processing and sales, in the process transforming Gaozhai from a poor village to a middle-income one.

Overall, Guiyang and Gui'an have selected 50 pilot villages to implement the model – resulting in over 70 new industrial projects and generating more than 25 million yuan ($3.44 million) in village collective revenue in 2023.

By 2025, the goal is to extend the model to over 300 villages, driving forwards local high-quality rural economic development and comprehensive rural vitalization.