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2020-09-14 
Yuexi county in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, is applying 5G and internet of things technologies to cultivate apples and raise local incomes. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Impoverished county sees a fruitful future, thanks to cutting-edge technology implementation at local orchard, Fang Aiqing and Huang Zhiling report in Yuexi, Sichuan province.

A rural county in Southwest China is using cutting-edge technologies to grow apples in a more efficient and environment-friendly way.

The Liangshan mountainous area is one of the most underdeveloped regions in China, and Yuexi county in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, is among the 52 counties still yet to shake off their impoverished status.

However, intensive agricultural industries are improving incomes and helping Yuexi with its efforts to alleviate poverty.

The modern apple orchard, located 12 kilometers away from the center of Yuexi, has introduced both 5G and internet of things technologies, supported by the Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, to monitor PH value, humidity, salinity and temperature of the soil, as well as the weather conditions and pest control.

It's also able to track sales, so that the orchard staff can adjust its varieties and growing plans in response to market changes.

An automated facility washes, selects and categorizes apples before a group of handlers further sort and pack up the fruit in Yuexi county. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A group of handlers sort and pack up the fruit in Yuexi county. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An automated facility washes and dries the apples, before a smart system arranges them in rows, locates the blemishes on them and removes the apples considered unsatisfactory for sale from the batch.

The staff can see the apples, with their blemishes marked, on a computer screen, like a catalog highlighting the unique qualities of each product.

The fruit is then categorized according to their size and sent down the line to different sets of handlers for further sorting and packing.

The orchard is also equipped with cold chain logistics, preparing the products for long-distance transportation.

So far the orchard has more than 107 hectares of fruit-bearing apple trees, with a further 67 hectares set to follow in the near future.

In late August, the first 20 metric tons of produce was transported to Foshan in Guangdong province-1,800 km away-because the city has sent talent and investment to the county to help the poverty alleviation effort, and the orchard is one of the beneficiaries.

More apples will be sent to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area at the end of September, especially to Hong Kong and Macao, for trial sale, according to Huang Jie, who was sent from Foshan to coordinate with the county as part of the cooperation to lift local people out of poverty and develop suitable industries to improve income sustainably.

Ethnic Yi woman Tian Azhi, 22, says she and her mother, together with her younger brother during the school summer holiday, went to the orchard to work part-time, earning a daily wage of 70 yuan ($10.2) each, which is considered quite good in the region.

Yuexi county in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, is applying 5G and internet of things technologies to cultivate apples and raise local incomes. [Photo provided to China Daily]

On average, the orchard is able to provide around 200 jobs a day, including technical posts and agricultural maintenance jobs, says Zeng Jin, deputy director of the orchard's administration office.

Tian's family used to live in an earthen house with a tiled roof in a mountain village. During strong winds and storms, the house would leak and the family would be subjected to power blackouts.

They used to plant corn and grains which could only support their most basic needs.

Now they have moved to an apartment nearby the center of Yuexi, with government sponsorship, which has largely facilitated her brother's ability to attend high school and her father to go to hospital.

As one of the more than 4,000 impoverished families that were relocated and sponsored to invest in the orchard, each member of Tian's family will receive a guaranteed annual bonus of 250 yuan for the first three years, starting from this year, Tian says.

Families that have transferred their land-use rights to the orchard can also receive land rent that grows year by year.

According to Dai Song, deputy head of the county, the output value of the whole orchard during high-yield periods will hopefully reach 60 million yuan a year. The approximate annual profit of 30 million yuan will directly benefit around 20,000 underprivileged people.

The orchard is also planning to introduce family-centric activities, like apple-picking, to integrate modern agriculture with tourism, Zeng says.

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