Village eyes poverty alleviation through mushroom planting

Farmers in Xiaoshui village have been given a new lease of life, thanks to a poverty reduction program, run by the local government.

Xiaoshui village is located in Xixia county of Nanyang, Henan province. The village has 435 households, with the majority falling under the poverty line.

The gradual rise in living standards in the village can be mainly credited to the local government's promotion of shiitake mushroom planting, with interest-free loans and technical guidance provided to aid local farmers.

Fan Jigang, a farmer in Xiaoshui, has made a considerable fortune through mushroom planting.

He was busying watering his mushroom greenhouses when local reporters came to interview him.

Fan said he had grown over 200,000 bags of mushrooms this year and expected to see revenues of around 2.4 million yuan ($360,000). He went on to talk about how he started planting mushrooms, and the changes he had seen in his life since becoming involved in the industry.

Fan's success epitomizes other farmers in Xixia, which is trying to build prosperity with the help of local government policy.

Following the successful model of mushroom planting, the Xixia government has issued an implementation program to further promote the industry, according to the local poverty alleviation office.

According to the program, mushroom farmers will be entitled to financial aid as well as technical guidance, while flexible production models such as cooperatives and rewards for shareholders will be adopted to help fuel industrial development.