Farmers in Xinjiang embrace bountiful mushroom harvest

Farmers are embracing a bountiful harvest of mushrooms at an agro-industrial park in Kuitun, a county-level city of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The mushrooms, currently sold at 18 yuan ($2.48) per kilogram, have become a new driving force for the local farmers' income growth.

In 2022, the local government invested more than 17 million yuan to build the agro-industrial park, which is equipped with 10,000 square meters of smart greenhouses and has so far created over 200 jobs.

With the agro-industrial park in place, there has inevitably been a surge in the electricity demand.

The State Grid's Kuitun Power Supply Co said it regularly dispatches personnel to visit the farmers, collect their needs, and develop customized power supply plans.

The company said it has also strengthened the maintenance of the transmission lines, as well as the monitoring of the changes in electrical loads.

Eying sustainable economic growth, the local government stressed further efforts to build a more complete industrial chain in the agro-industrial park.

More local farmers will be encouraged to rent the greenhouses, and the agro-industrial park will provide high-end technologies, spawn bags and training for them, said the government.