Xi stresses daylily growing in poverty alleviation

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts at an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. Xi inspected north China's Shanxi Province on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has stressed the role of daylily growing and processing in helping local people get rid of poverty.

Xi made the remarks while visiting an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City Monday afternoon during an inspection tour in north China's Shanxi Province.

Xi walked into the daylily field and had a cordial conversation with villagers working there.

He was happy to learn that in recent years, thanks to the guidance of major enterprises and cooperatives, the farm achieved a stable output of quality daylily -- an edible plant -- with a guaranteed market and price, helping lift a number of impoverished households out of poverty.

Xi said daylily growing and processing can develop into a big industry with great prospects.

He stressed efforts to protect and develop the daylily industry and give full play to its role in poverty alleviation.

Yunzhou District used to be a poverty-stricken area, where growing daylily had a long history but was not on a large scale.

Now growing daylily is very popular in Yunzhou, with the total area of daylily plantations increasing from less than 16,000 mu (1,067 hectares) before 2010 to the current 150,000 mu (10,000 hectares).

Yunzhou has put in place standardized regulations and procedures governing organic daylily production and launched daylily processing projects and relevant agri-tourism services.

In 2019, daylily generated a total revenue of 65 million yuan (about 9.17 million U.S. dollars) in the district.