CRI听力:Green Agriculture Revitalizes Ancient County

Yuanmou Man is the oldest known hominid to be discovered in China and dates back 1.7 million years. As such, the region is known as the "Cradle of the Asian People."

Now, the county is grabbing people's attention for its development of green agriculture.

Farmer Guo Jinbao attributes the thriving agriculture sector to the county's natural conditions.

"Yuanmou County is the hometown of China's vegetables. Natural conditions here, such as the amount of light and heat, and general weather conditions, are better than those north of the Yangtze River. "

12 years ago, attracted by the good natural conditions in Yuanmou, Guo Jinbao quit his former job and began growing vegetables here.

At first, he grew vegetables in traditional farmland, just like most Chinese growers do.

As a result, he suffered a loss of 3 million yuan in two years due to poor land management.

But he was not beaten by the failure. After applying modern technologies such as greenhouse cultivation and drip irrigation under plastic film, the farmer enjoyed an extraordinary turnaround in short order.

Now the annual output of his leased 20 hectares of farmland generates over 30 million yuan in revenue.

Guo's experience reflects Yuanmou County's success in developing modern green agriculture.

Local authorities are now stepping up efforts to build their own green agriculture brand.

They've formulated a standard to produce green products and they've established a monitoring mechanism to ensure food security.

Zhou Guohua is the deputy director of the county's Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau:

"In terms of production, we do not allow enterprises known for high pollution to establish in our county. We prohibit the sale and use of high-toxic pesticides. Agricultural products can't be sold to other places until they are tested and proven safe. "

The country now produces 350-thousand tons of vegetables annually.

The total value of the crop is over 1 billion yuan, accounting for up to 50% of local farmers' incomes.

Produce grown in the regions feeds millions of Chinese people and others around the world, with exports going to 16 countries including Germany, Japan, Singapore and Russia.

County managers are planning to further expand sales channels.

For CRI, I'm Guo Yan.