Small Peanuts Generate Income for Farmers in Linyi County

Dezhou's Linyi county, Shandong province, has been optimizing its agricultural industry structure to increase income for local farmers, with efforts already seen bearing fruits in some villages.

In Hengfeng village of the county, after the harvest season of peanuts, the peanut oil production line is busy. This year there is a good harvest of high oleic peanuts in the village, with a yield of up to 500 kilograms per mu.

The new high oleic peanut variety usually yields 15 percent more oil than regular peanuts, with a market price per catty being about 0.5 yuan ($0.07) higher than regular peanuts. Based on the current market price, the net profit per mu can reach around 2,800 yuan.

To increase the added value of high oleic peanuts, Hengfeng villagers, encouraged by the local government, have introduced a high oleic peanut oil production line and set up their own peanut oil brand, selling it to local supermarkets.

"We began planting high oleic peanuts in 2019 and established a peanut planting cooperative in 2020. We then provided expertise, seeds and mechanical services to surrounding villages. The cooperation has been good and there has been a surge in income," said Zhong Lei, a Party member in Linyi county.

In recent years, based on the natural advantages, the village created local specialty business projects, promoting the village's development.

Looking ahead, Zhao Aiyue, deputy Party secretary of Hengyuan district, where Hengfeng village is located, said: "In the next steps, Hengyuan substrict will continue to push forward such development in accordance with each village's conditions, help raise the income of local farmers and more importantly make it a sustainable mode, so as to help the village achieve high-quality development."