Olives provide a taste of the good life

LANZHOU－Trees turned orange and yellow with autumn colors in late October, and farmers like Jia Yongxiang in Longnan city, Northwest China's Gansu province, became busy harvesting olives from trees that have brought significant changes to his family.

As a woody-oil crop traditionally planted in the Mediterranean Basin, olive trees have been cultivated in suitable areas across China since their introduction to the country in the 1960s.

Longnan is one such place, where, due to its similar climate and soil conditions to that along the Mediterranean coast, since 1975, olive trees have taken root and thrived.

After years of effort, Longnan became one of the most important olive planting bases in China, dubbed the "hometown of Chinese olives".

Jia, from Jinping village of Waina township, and many other villagers used to live in poverty because grain crops yielded a low output.

In 2002, the local government encouraged villagers to plant olive trees. Jia volunteered to give it a try, but to many in the village, the idea of planting a new type of crop was considered a risky endeavor.

The local government provided Jia, and others who took up the challenge, with quality saplings from a reliable species and advanced cultivation techniques. He spared no effort pruning, weeding, watering and fertilizing his new crop.

It wasn't until 2008 that the trees started to produce, and Jia earned more than 8,000 yuan ($1,250) that year, higher than he could have earned by planting traditional crops.

The result of that first harvest further boosted his confidence to expand the planting area of his olives, and he received technical support from the local government and olive processing companies.

Villagers were also inspired to join the expanding business, with their produce purchased by a processing plant. "It is difficult to preserve the fresh olives, so the processing plant helps relieve the pressure by signing orders with us," he says.

In 2016, Jia's planting area expanded to about six hectares, bringing him an annual income of nearly 200,000 yuan. With the money, he built a three-story house in the village and later bought two apartments in a nearby urban area.

To encourage more villagers, Jia took the lead in establishing a cooperative that provides participants with quality cuttings to grow. "It is imperative to take the road of common prosperity. A good industry is sustainable and ensures a better life for generations," he says.

Xinhua