Hechi expands silkworm industry to boost rural vitalization

Staff members of a silkworm professional cooperative in Huanjiang Maonan autonomous county carry silkworm cocoons. [Photo/Hechi Daily]

In recent years, Hechi has grasped the nation's strategy of "moving mulberries from the east to the west" to develop its mulberry and silkworm industry, achieving remarkable results.

Hechi has guided villagers to develop the mulberry and silkworm industry by distributing mulberry seedlings to the farmers free of charge, as well as by carrying out various practical technical trainings for planting mulberries and raising silkworms. It has also promoted new technologies and methods, such as new silkworm varieties promotion, pollution-free cultivation, as well as green prevention and control of diseases and insect pests.

In addition, it also implemented the construction of an autonomous region-level silkworm industrial cluster project to improve the yield and quality of mulberry leaves, increase the income of farmers in ethnic minority areas, as well as help rural vitalization efforts.

Bada village, Yong'an town, Du'an Yao autonomous county is an example of how success in developing the silkworm industry has propelled rural vitalization and economic development efforts. The village is inhabited by members of the Miao ethnic group. More than 95 percent of the village's population is Miao. There are 310 households engaged in mulberry and silkworm farming, accounting for about 70 percent of the village's population. This year, the village planted more than 500 mu (33.3 hectares) of mulberry leaves and raised 1,500 standard sheets of silkworm seeds, generating an estimated total output value of 3 million yuan ($44,850).

As of the end of December last year, the planting area of mulberry orchards in Hechi totaled 944,200 mu, while the area of mulberry orchards transformed from low-yield fields was 60,100 mu, completing 101.05 percent of the 161,500-metric-ton goal.