Shandong's county develops specialty agriculture

Beicui village – located in Dong'e county in Liaocheng city, in East China's Shandong province – is currently bringing in a bountiful harvest of pears, with happy local farmers dealing with rafts of buyers flocking there.

Visitors check out some of the ripe pears in Dong'e county. [Photo by Li Aiming for chinadaily.com.cn]

Beicui village has 265 households and more than 1,800 mu (120 hectares) of land under cultivation. In 2002, the village started planting Golden Pear trees.

In 2012, the Golden Pear Planting Cooperative was established and now around 75 percent of the village households are engaged in pear tree cultivation, providing employment for over 500 people and boosting the overall incomes of villagers substantially.

Beicui village is one of the prime examples of Dong'e county's advancement of specialty agriculture, in its overall bid to promote rural vitalization.

Leveraging the advantages of distinctive agricultural products in terms of quality and quantity, efforts have been made to strengthen industry leaders.

Efforts have also been made to improve the supply chain, develop new business models and promote the agribusiness brand – to enhance the agricultural product processing industry and promote the high-quality development of the entire agricultural industry supply chain.

In addition, the county is also fully utilizing its rural e-commerce platforms to promote integration among various types of businesses.

By combining catering, homestays, tourism and e-commerce along the Yellow River, the county has vitalized its characteristic resources, actively guided and adjusted agricultural structures, as well as boosted its economic development. (Edited by Jin Yongxue)