集体在线交易提振当地农业

New E-Commerce schemes are having a major beneficial impact on small rural communities.

China's Ministry of Agriculture is on a mission to boost rural e-commerce development even further this year, hoping to attract more entrepreneurial talents to the countryside.

Many schemes are already in place, helping farmers collectively sell their products to larger markets.

This Camellia wood in Southeast China was once overgrown and unused. The tree produces Tea-Oil. Since 2011, the wood has been brought back to life, by local farmer Zhu Qianhuang.

The revival is mainly because of rural e-commerce schemes, introduced by the local government.

"Before, it wasn't really worth me coming here to cultivate the Tea Oil. We'd maybe come five or six times a year. Now we're replanting all the time, and we come every month," said Zhu Qianhuang, local farmer.

Under the scheme, farmers in the area sell their products collectively, through larger agents. Wholesale orders are placed online from across the country.

Mr Zhu says he can't keep up with the demand for his Tea Oil.

It's a similar story in nearby Ningdu County, where officials have been implementing similar measures.

"Rural poverty is caused by three factors - lack of skills, lack of information, and lack of incentive. If people group together, skills and resources can be shared. Right now, we have over 120 companies within our E-Commerce zone. That includes over eighty families, either employed or running their own businesses," said Ning Weisheng, Ningdu County Commerce Bureau.

The schemes have led to the creation of around 6,000 new jobs in Ningdu County alone, helping to push old, labor-intensive industries into a more modern era.

China's central Commerce ministry says over 200 counties and villages across the country are now running similar schemes.

The E-commerce link up is also bringing more business for courier and freight companies, tapping in to the new supply and demand.