Summer fruit harvest boosts family farm incomes
2026-07-09 19:07:49
By Yan Wanqin.
The peak summer fruit season is fueling income growth for family farms in Yichang City, while also providing fresh leisure options for urban dwellers.
Yichang now has 42,986 registered family farms, generating total operating revenue of 9.94 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion) last year, maintaining its top-tier position in Hubei Province, according to the Yichang Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.
At the Minsheng Family Farm in Zhijiang, a 30-mu (2-hectare) Chinese bayberry orchard is drawing crowds with its purple-red, juicy fruits. The farm has maintained green cultivation practices for 12 years, using biogas slurry as organic fertilizer to ensure quality and safety.
In Dangyang, the Yuhui Ecological Family Farm is reaping a bumper harvest of Summer Black grapes from its 15-mu greenhouse, with yields reaching around 1,500 kg per mu.
The peak summer fruit season is fueling income growth for family farms in Yichang City, while also providing fresh leisure options for urban dwellers.
Yichang now has 42,986 registered family farms, generating total operating revenue of 9.94 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion) last year, maintaining its top-tier position in Hubei Province, according to the Yichang Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.
At the Minsheng Family Farm in Zhijiang, a 30-mu (2-hectare) Chinese bayberry orchard is drawing crowds with its purple-red, juicy fruits. The farm has maintained green cultivation practices for 12 years, using biogas slurry as organic fertilizer to ensure quality and safety.
In Dangyang, the Yuhui Ecological Family Farm is reaping a bumper harvest of Summer Black grapes from its 15-mu greenhouse, with yields reaching around 1,500 kg per mu.
Grapes in Yuhui Ecological Family Farm.The farm also adopts an intercropping system and employs physical pest control and water-fertilizer integration. With staggered ripening of multiple grape varieties and complementary crops, the farm projects annual sales of 5 million yuan.
To sustain the momentum, Yichang has made family farm development a key indicator in rural economic assessments. Meanwhile, financial institutions have introduced innovative loan schemes. By accepting land and forest rights as collateral, they have helped ease farmers' access to credit.
The city has also introduced a three-year quality improvement plan and established standards for scale and management. Through annual training, skills contests, and field visits, local farm operators have continuously upgraded their expertise. This spring, three Yichang-based farms were named provincial-level model units of high-quality development.
