Peppers help power rural development in Kaiyang

A villager harvests peppers at Qishen Park in Kaiyang county. [Photo/WeChat account of Kaiyang county]

Recently, in Kaiyang county's Qishen Park, the branches were filled with ripe spiral peppers. They are now in the harvesting period, and workers are busy picking, sorting, packing, and loading them.

Zhao Fei, the park's manager, said it has planted over 400 mu (26.67 hectatres) of spiral peppers and built 104 vegetable greenhouses and one sorting center.

The park can now harvest 4,000 to 4,500 kilograms of fresh peppers daily, with a yield of about 6,000 kilograms per mu, and an estimated total output value of over 8 million yuan ($1.10 million).

From the transplanting the seedlings to mid-to-late stage management, harvesting, and weeding, a large labor force is needed. Villagers can earn a stable income as the pepper-harvesting period is long. They can also earn rent by transferring their land to those wishing to grow peppers, achieving continuous income growth.

Wang Fang, a resident who has escaped poverty, leased her land to Guiyang Agricultural Investment Group to grow peppers and became a long-term worker at the base, sending her income soaring and bringing prosperity to her family.