Tropical agriculture booming in Hainan

Life for residents of Dongguang and Youpan in Danzhou, Hainan province, has changed a lot with rising incomes and mastery of special farming skills, thanks to a nearby cactus farm.

The farm, the largest of its kind in China, covers 92 hectares of fields that had been abandoned or were being used to grow weak crops. Its annual output value now amounts to more than 70 million yuan ($11 million), according to Zhong Meimo Cactus Industry Co, the project developer.

"We are committed to developing a green healthcare business chain that will involve cultivation of edible and medicinal cactus, intensive processing, breeding research and the promotion of cultivation techniques and cactus culture," the company's general manager, Zhuang Liping, said.

With deep-processed cactus fruit products popular with consumers on the Chinese mainland, the company is seeking to expand its operations by more than 300 hectares around Hainan island to support the growth of a complete cactus economy, Zhuang said.

Elsewhere on the island, an orchard on 70-hectares of what had been degenerating rubber trees on the island's eastern coast — the World of Tropical Fruits in Qionghai — has introduced more than 400 varieties of tropical fruit.

Demonstrating agricultural opening-up and international cooperation, the project has bred about 150 varieties, 50 of which have entered commercial production. Fruit such as finger lime and "ice-cream fruit" have been warmly received by customers at home and abroad, and at handsome prices, said Wang Qiao, general manager of the orchard.

He said that more than 4.5 million tropical fruit seedlings have been planted on 1,300 hectares across Hainan in the past two years. The orchard's rare fruit trees are now part of China's National Tropical Plant Germplasm Resources Bank.