Villagers improve herb quality for market demand

The market-oriented driven economy has seen increasing number of villagers in Longxi County leaving their farmlands for jobs in cities and towns last year, as the result of herb glut market.

"The herb prices, such as, Dangshen, are fluctuating dramatically, between 10 yuan and 120 yuan, in recent years," said Chen Jianhui, a local villager who extends his herb business to Guangdong and Sichuan.

To respond to the market, the county established a 6,667-square-meter land to develop and improve local herbs, such as, astragalus, Dangshen and scutellaria, which have been cultivated for hundreds of years there.

"We improve the quality of the herbs by using organic fertilizer and restricting the components of heavy metals in the earth," said Xu Yongqiang, an herb farming technician in Longxi. "Besides, we also promote improved farming technology and seedling to local farmers."

The insurance business has been introduced as a way of guaranteeing minimum income to herb farmers.