Blueberries sweeten farmers' life in Sheqi county, C China's Henan

A bumper harvest of blueberries puts big smiles on the faces of workers picking the fruit at a blueberry production base in Jinzhuang township, Sheqi county, Nanyang city, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Xin Jing)

As blueberries ripen and hit the market in China, a large blueberry production base in Jinzhuang township, Sheqi county, Nanyang city, central China's Henan Province, has become a hive of activity.

Workers are busy picking and sorting blueberries at the base, which covers an area of around 1,000 mu (66.67 hectares). The expansive blueberry production base is operated by a professional blueberry cooperative called the Wanjin blueberry cooperative.

Jinzhuang township began cultivating blueberries in 2018. It has registered the "Wanjin Blueberry" trademark and adopted a development model which integrates cooperatives, production base, farmer households, distributors, and agritourism.

The model has drawn over 300 locals into the blueberry industry chain. Participants have become "multi-income earners," receiving rent from land-use right transfers, dividends from investments, and wages from work at the blueberry production base.

Each farmer household involved in the industry has enjoyed an average annual income increase of nearly 10,000 yuan ($1377).