E China's Jiangxi sees growth in forest farming and related industries

Rows of logs used to grow mushrooms hang from tree trunks at Xujiang Forest Farm in Guangchang county, east China's Jiangxi Province, where a thriving underforest economy is taking root.

Xie Yuancai, head of Fuzhou Licai Edible Fungi Co., Ltd., leads visitors along muddy paths to showcase new varieties of wood ear mushrooms cultivated at the site.

Photo shows wood ear mushrooms cultivated at Xujiang Forest Farm in Guangchang county, Fuzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu)

"This is a new mushroom variety we've developed," Xie says proudly.

Aerial photo shows Xujiang Forest Farm and a reservoir in Guangchang county, Fuzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Photo/Yuan Yi)

Located on the western slope of Mount Wuyi, Guangchang has 1.84 million mu (1,227 square kilometers) of forest, with a forest coverage rate of nearly 72 percent, providing ample space for "underforest" industries — businesses that cultivate mushrooms, herbs and other crops beneath the forest canopy.

To turn this natural wealth into economic value, the county has established demonstration sites, leveraging the forest farm's resources through a model that integrates companies, the forest farm, demonstration sites and farmers.

"We manage 4,200 mu of land dedicated to understory cultivation here," says Xie.

Xie Yuancai, head of Fuzhou Licai Edible Fungi Co., Ltd., picks stout camphor fungi at Xujiang Forest Farm in Guangchang county, Fuzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu)

The planting sites have created jobs for more than 2,000 local farming households, raising their average annual income by over 6,000 yuan ($835) per household.

Photo shows irrigation facilities at Xujiang Forest Farm in Guangchang county, Fuzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu)

Farmers work at Xujiang Forest Farm in Guangchang county, Fuzhou city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Photo/Xie Changjian)

Local farmer You Quanzhong has invested all 135 mu of his mountain land in a program where farmers become shareholders and receive dividends. According to the agreement, once the rough-leaved holly trees planted on his land begin yielding profits, he will receive a 23 percent annual dividend for 15 years.

Jiangxi aims to grow its forest-based economy to 300 billion yuan by 2027, accelerating the development of a modern forestry sector centered on oil-tea camellia, moso bamboo and the cultivation of crops beneath the forest canopy.

The province's forestry sector is thriving, with 53 leading enterprises at the national level and 371 at the provincial level. Total forestry output in Jiangxi has exceeded 680 billion yuan.