Honeysuckle helps farmer climb out of poverty

Over the past 30 years, Wu Xianyong, a poor farmer from Xianglong village of Longhui county, Hunan province, has seen his home upgraded from a weathered wood house to a two-story brick building equipped with modern conveniences, such as internet and tap water.

"My current home looks nicer and more decent. Also, it is more comfortable to live in because it won't leak or be inundated by excessive rainfall any more," the 56-year-old said.

In 2016, his home was renovated when his family was removed from the list of impoverished households thanks to his increased income from growing honeysuckle and his son starting to earn a stable income as an architect in the provincial capital, Changsha, after graduating from Wuhan University of Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Located in the eastern foothills of the Xuefeng Mountain Range, one of the largest mountains in Hunan, Xianglong village－with an average annual temperature of 11 C and rainy and warm climate－is suitable for planting honeysuckle, which is primarily used in traditional Chinese medicine.

According to the local government, its history of honeysuckle cultivation dates back to the 1970s and most villagers make a living on planting the herb.

Though Wu has grown the herb for more than three decades, the market price was low before 2014 and he only earned some 4,000 yuan ($565) a year.

"I usually got up at 6 am to take care of honeysuckle and went to sleep at 9 pm. However, I couldn't sleep well then because the market price was often not good," he said.

Hu Xinyu, the head of the village, said that he was familiar with Wu's work ethic.

"As far as I know, Wu is a quite motivated and industrious man with few words. He puts almost all his energy and time into growing honeysuckle. He also would like to help villagers in need do some chores," he said.

Despite Wu's efforts, he was still listed as living in an impoverished household mainly due to the lack of farming technique and sales channels for honeysuckle.

In 2014, under a poverty alleviation program presided over by the local government, most villagers in Xianglong village signed a contract with the Xinlongyuan Honeysuckle Cooperative.

Under the contract, the cooperative provides training and high quality seedlings and secures a bottom price for farmers. Wu signed the contract and he also received a 50,000 yuan interest-free loan from the government.

"Thanks to support from the government, I can sell my honeysuckle to the cooperative, which guarantees a minimum price of 6 yuan per kilogram," Wu said.

Last year, Wu's honeysuckle output doubled compared to the previous year after receiving newly-developed seedlings and training from the cooperative, which sold honeysuckle to other provinces like Guizhou, Jiangxi and Sichuan.

Wu has greatly raised his income over the past years. Sales from honeysuckle planted on 0.2 hectares of land can now bring him an annual income of about 50,000 yuan.

Nestled deep in the mountains, the village is home to 106 households. A total of 102 have been lifted from poverty, like Wu, via growing honeysuckle, with four still on the impoverished list.

Wu smiled proudly when talking about his new house because he said he was among the earliest villagers who renovated old houses. With less worry about the market price and honeysuckle output, he likes to take a walk or have a small talk with other villagers in his spare time.

He said he hopes he can earn more and help his son buy an apartment in the provincial capital.