Agricultural development leads Linyi farmers to prosperity

Lanshan district in Linyi city, East China's Shandong province, has been promoting an agricultural model that involves companies, cooperatives and farmers, in a bid to develop a circular economy in this field.

From key links such as production, processing, storage and transportation, to brand sales and services, the model aims to extend the cultivation and breeding periods and integrate these more closely with processing and production, as well as promote the utilization of waste.

At Jinluo industrial park in the district's Bancheng town, cutting-edge equipment that is designed to lock in product freshness has been deployed, such as spiral single-freezing machines and fully automatic packaging machines.

"This equipment can reduce the time it takes to rapidly freeze and package meat products from 48 hours to just one hour of rapid freezing, resulting in improved market competitiveness," said Tian Shuchen, the park's quality control chief.

Based on a total investment of 600 million yuan ($82.08 million), the park has realized full connectivity from raw materials to products, and from front-end to back-end operations, while also promoting the integrated development of its primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.

Elsewhere in Liguan town, the Qingchun vegetable cooperative has adopted a "company + farmer" operating model to develop large-scale, standardized, and scientific vegetable cultivation.

Its products are now sold to many regions across the country, such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces.

Moreover, featured agricultural brands are also thriving in Wanggou town, with its registered agricultural product brands such as TianXiucai cucumber and Shagudi apple now being shipped to various parts of the country.

"The village Party branch has helped to set up an apple-planting cooperative, and I have doubled my income in recent years by working in the local agricultural sector," said villager Yang Kaicheng.

Lanshan district is home to 43 leading agricultural enterprises, including two at the national level, nine at the provincial level, and 32 at the municipal level. (Edited by Chen Chuxuan)