Innovation drives agri-growth

Greener aquaculture

In Ezhou, improvements in fish farming are based on a different foundation: cleaner water.

Around Sanshan Lake, local authorities began removing illegal structures and floating restaurants in 2016, extending sewage networks and treating aquaculture wastewater. After five years of restoration, the lake's water quality improved from Class IV to Class III.

Sanshan village now has about 9,800 mu of intensive fish ponds producing around 7,000 tons of freshwater fish annually. At cooperative bases, farmers can check the water temperature and dissolved oxygen level on their phones.

Wang Ge, who shifted his business focus to Sanshan in 2022, helped establish a cooperative providing fry, feed and technical guidance, and built processing facilities.

"Low-temperature, low-salt curing helps preserve the fish's fresh flavor and nutrients," Wang said.

Researchers are also improving the fish itself. The locally developed Huahai No 2 strain of Wuchang fish has been bred for faster growth.

After about a decade of research, a team led by Gao Zexia, a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, developed a Wuchang fish strain without the fine intermuscular bones that make many freshwater fish difficult to eat.

Cold-chain links are extending the market. In one shipment, Wuchang fish reached a restaurant in Beijing, about 1,200 km away, roughly 20 hours after harvest.

Wider markets

In Dongjiao village in Zaoyang, administered by Xiangyang, premium yellow peaches can sell for as much as 20 yuan each. At a demonstration orchard, integrated irrigation and fertilizer systems, greener pest control and smart machinery help growers manage their trees.

Liu Bin, a supervisor of a local yellow-peach farming cooperative, said that in addition to testing new varieties, the cooperative is also developing and promoting rootstocks to tackle problems that arise when peach trees are repeatedly grown on the same land.

The cooperative's planting network now reaches 19 villages across 12 townships, involving more than 1,600 farming households, Liu said.

The village has nearly 1,000 mu of peach orchards, including about 200 mu under digital management, alongside cold-storage facilities.

Village livestreaming rooms help residents sell local produce to customers farther away, with training facilities allowing villagers to learn the skills needed to run their own broadcasts.

Visitors provide another market. Three households jointly converted an old residence into a restaurant, while other village properties have become cafes, bakeries and workshops.

The village sums up its approach as encouraging visitors to "stay one night, eat three meals and take two bags" of local products home. Village Party chief Hu Aiguo said per capita income reached 30,123 yuan in 2025.

From orchard work and online sales to restaurants and guest visits, the peach industry is giving residents more ways to earn a living close to home, Hu said.

Contact the writers at liukun@chinadaily.com.cn