Chinese medicinal herb generates wealth for county in Guizhou

Liping county of southwest China's Guizhou Province has fostered an industry of Gastrodia elat, an herbal medicine, in recent years, delivering benefits to local villagers.

Photo shows fresh Gastrodia elat. (Photo/Wu Yongkui)

The county has adopted a mode integrating top-tier companies in the industry, cooperatives and growers, and rolled out favorable measures, fostering a whole industrial chain including breeding, planting, processing, storing and sale of this Chinese medicinal herb.

The county had 41,900 mu of (about 2,793.3 hectares) Gastrodia elat last year, with an output value of 120 million yuan (about $18.9 million), and is going to plant 45,000 mu of the herb in 2022.

Photo shows workers working in a processing plant of Gastrodia elat. (Photo/Wu Yongkui)

It is now the season for planting the herb. Zhou Shanghai, an expert of Gastrodia elat, is now busy teaching growers of Wanbaoshan and Ladong villages in the county. “Seed sowing began in October 2021,” said Zhou. “Half of the work is done now. And it is estimated that all of the sowing will be finished by the end of March,” he added.

According to Zhou, hundreds of villagers work in the planting bases of Ladong village every day, which covers 100,000 square meters. “I’ve been digging Gastrodia elat here with my fellow villagers since August 2021, and later began to planting the herb. I earn a monthly income of over 2,000 yuan,” said a villager named Wu Xianglian. “A long-term worker earns over 3,000 yuan per month,” she added. Similarly, Zhu Yonglan, 60, from Wanbaoshan village, has been working for a local company for four years. With a monthly income of over 2,000 yuan, Zhu was very satisfied with her job.

Zhou Shanghai teaches villagers to plant Gastrodia elat. (Photo/Wu Yongkui)

Villagers harvest Gastrodia elat. (Photo/Wu Yongkui)