County in SE China’s Fujian develops under-forest industries to shake off poverty

Wuping county in Longyan, southeast China’s Fujian province, has been encouraging farmers to develop under-forest industries, such as plantations, raising livestock and poultry, as well as green industries including eco-tourism, in order to alleviate poverty.

Known as the cradle of the country’s reforms of the woodland collective ownership system, Wuping has been deepening its reforms in recent years.

Photo shows Jiewen village, cradle of China’s reforms of the woodland collective ownership system, in Wan’an township, Wuping county, southeast China’s Fujian province. (People’s Daily Online/Wang Xian)

By 2019, the county had fostered 110 new types of under-forest business entities, increasing the average incomes of about 30,000 households by about 50,000 yuan. It has also received 2. 5 million tourists, with income from the sector exceeding 1 billion yuan. The total output of the county’s forestry has hit 7.5 billion yuan.

“Thanks to the government’s sound policies, we’ve started to live more prosperous lives,” local residents said.