The Global Forum on Urban and Rural Development of the Boao Forum For Asia takes place from Thursday to Friday in the city of Chengdu, southwest China. Experts emphasise the importance of products with geographical indications, such as Iberian ham and Bordeaux red wine, for the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
Reporter Guo Tianqi visited Hanyuan County, Sichuan Province, where high-quality cherries are bringing new economic development to the local population. Every year, from May to June, it is cherry ripening season in Hanyuan County, Ya'an City. The townspeople are attracted to them and come in large numbers to experience the joy of the harvest.
‘The 1,200 metres above sea level, hilly terrain and muddy soil are the most suitable conditions for growing cherries. For this reason, the cherries produced in this village won first place in last year's National Cherry Competition,’ says Gui Tianqi.
The county has planted over 4,000 hectares of cherries and the annual production value can reach USD 150 million. Since 2014, the Hanyuan cherry has been included in the list of national geographical indication products.
ang Dezong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Longchi Village: ‘After more than ten years of experiments, the price of our cherries is getting higher and higher. All our cherries meet the standards of green farming. Now each family's income can increase by a third every year’.
The village set up a cherry farm seven years ago with 135 farming families.
Feng Jianhua, Director of the Longchi Village Cherry Farm says: ‘We offer farmers cultivation techniques. If their product is up to our standards, we pay them more than the market price. Our company realises about nine million RMB per year in revenues and two million RMB in profits’.
High-quality cherries are always in short supply. Every day there are 2,000 crates of the best quality cherries, which fly from the tip of a tree to the whole nation via the cold chain. They can arrive in one to three days.
‘I used to grow potatoes, but now I only grow cherries. Besides selling them directly to the village farm, we also sell them online.’
At the Global Urban and Rural Development Forum of the Boao Forum For Asia, experts also emphasised that the basis of rural revitalisation is ecological protection and livability. So perhaps planting cherry trees in mountainous areas is a good practice.
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