Monk fruit fattens villagers’ wallets

Villagers were busy watering monk fruit trees, and pruning branches in the agricultural cooperative of Qianghu Village, Qianzhou Subdistrict, Jishou City on July 23. According to the head of the cooperative, in recent years, Qianghu Village has developed characteristic industries according to local conditions. In 2021, it introduced excellent varieties, built a 120-mu (8 hectares) monk fruit industrial base, and established the industrial cooperative. With a “contract farming” business model, monk fruit planting has achieved good benefits, helping develop the village collective economy, and increase farmers’ income. This year, it is expected to harvest nearly 10,000 ripe fruits per mu (about 0.067 hectares), with a total output value exceeding 1 million yuan.