Village in Kaiyang forges path to prosperity

Yellow peaches are ready for harvest in Xinchang village. [Photo/WeChat account of Kaiyang county]

Xinchang village in Kaiyang county, Guiyang, was once an impoverished village. In recent years, the village has been promoting its growth by boosting traditional agriculture and developing characteristic industries.

The path to poverty alleviation in Xinchang has not been smooth. Previous attempts to grow crops such as walnuts, chili peppers, and oil tea nearly all ended in failure. It wasn't until May 2023, when the village established a mixed-ownership company, Guizhou Longxin Agriculture Development Co, that a new path to prosperity was forged.

The village Party branch and administrative committee took the lead by investing 100,000 yuan ($13,760) in the development of a 50-head beef cattle farm tailored to local conditions. The initiative was integrated with the village's existing 56-mu (3.73 hectares) yellow peach plantation to create a green, circular farming model.

A livestock farm was built within the plantation, where intercropping forage grass with yellow peaches provided feed for the cattle. In turn, cattle manure was processed into organic fertilizer to nourish the peach trees, maximizing resource utilization and economic benefits while significantly reducing farming costs.

This approach not only achieved complementary industrial development but also extended the value chain, exploring a diversified income model for Xinchang.

Today, the village's collective economy is thriving. The cattle farm has expanded to 58 head, while the yellow peach plantation is expected to yield over 15,000 kilograms of fruit, with projected income doubling compared to previous years.