Hechi's poverty alleviation efforts pay off

Since 2019, Hechi city in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been promoting the development of its poverty alleviation sectors -- aiming to lift its 246 poverty-stricken villages and 216,287 residents out of poverty -- and it has met with success, according to local officials.

They said that 10 poverty alleviation industries have been vigorously developed in Hechi, located in southern China, since the start of the year.

Plantations for mulberries in the city now cover 941,400 mu (62,760 hectares), with the scale of silkworm production there ranking first in China for 15 consecutive years.

In silk production, mulberry leaves are mainly used as food in silkworm rearing. But left-over mulberry leaves are also used as cattle feed.

In terms of food production, the city's abattoirs processed 160,500 head of cattle and slaughtered 695,800 sheep in the year to date, both taking first place in Guangxi.

The total cultivation area for walnuts in Hechi now stands at 2.62 million mu, making it a pilot city for establishing a national-level production base for forestry eco-products, such as the walnut.

Hechi also has a cultivated area for tea-oil trees covering 1.51 million mu, rating it as a national wood oil plant regional demonstration city.

Officials said the "joint construction, breeding, and planting" program being pursued in Dahua county is based on poverty alleviation workshops. It aims to improve the self-development capacity of impoverished people, as well as consistently increase their incomes and lift them out of poverty – and the efforts have received recognition in social media and the mainstream media.

The development of the 10 poverty alleviation industries have also advanced the development of agricultural products processing and marketing.

More than 55 processing companies -- for cattle and sheep, pigs, sugar cane, mulberries and silkworms, tea-oil trees and chestnuts -- were founded in Hechi in 2019.

Officials said they have helped increase the added value of agricultural products.

In the current year companies -- focused on organic, green, pollution-free, geographical indications and original products -- certified and registered a total of 40 products out of a total of 192 products registered in the city.

Officials said that five regional public brands for agricultural products, five brands of agricultural enterprises, as well as eight agricultural product brands, were rated on the list of Guangxi agricultural brands.