Tea cultivation boosts villagers’ income

Niujiaoshan Village of Morong Town in Guzhang County was shrouded in clouds and mist on the morning of March 2.

“The first batch of spring tea will be ready for picking in just a week,” said Long Xianwen, Party secretary of Niujiaoshan Village. He was checking the growth of tea along with tea farmers.

Long Liufang, a local villager, estimated that his parents can earn about 40,000 to 50,000 yuan from over 10 mu (about 0.67 hectares) of tea garden this year. “Before, our Party secretary encouraged us to grow tea, but we wouldn’t like to do so, because we worried about sales,” said he. Niujiaoshan Village designated 50-mu (about 3.33 hectares) experimental field for tea cultivation at first and has 13,800 mu (920 hectares) of tea garden now. The biggest change lies in the attitude of tea farmers. “With the advancement of planting technology, expanded sales channels, and more income, tea farmers are naturally willing to plant tea,” said Long Liufang.

Long Xianwen said that Niujiaoshan Village has developed from a poverty-stricken village with a per capita annual income of 791 yuan into a village with a characteristic industry of 100 million yuan, thanks to the practical implementation of targeted poverty alleviation and rural revitalization policies, as well as the joint efforts of cadres and villagers in the village. Long Lingzhi, executive director of Niujiaoshan Ecological Agriculture Technology Development Co., Ltd., said that the company has 1,350 employees, two thirds of whom are young people under the age of 40. Some of them work on the deep processing of tea, some work as tour guides, and some as live streamers.

Long Xianwen added that the village welcomed dozens of busloads of tourists on the sixth day of the first lunar month. Nowadays, Niujiaoshan Village vigorously develops tourism. In 2023, the village achieved a tourism revenue of over 100 million yuan.