ඉඩම් ගැටළුවට සූරියකාන්ත පිළිතුරක්

Sunflower plantation in coal-mining subsidence areas help increase villagers' income

Planting sunflowers in coal-mining subsidence areas has enabled villagers in Shanyin County of north China's Shanxi Province to increase their incomes and improve the local ecological system.

Mayingxiang Village of Shanyin County used to have eight coal mines, which have now been transformed into terraced fields where sunflowers thrive.

The right to land use for the mining subsidence area had been transferred to local rural residents in recent years in efforts to restore soil. Most farmers have chosen to plant sunflowers on the restored land.

"In recent years, we have been working to improve the subsidence land in the coal-mining areas. Since 2021, we have transferred the land use right to crop growers and professional cooperatives. Some of the crop growers chose to plant sunflowers. Right by our side, there are over 4,000 mus (about 267 hectares) of sunflowers. Recently, the sunflowers have entered the flowering season. Judging from their growth, we would gain good profit from the sunflowers this year," said Zhang Wenda, head of Mayingxiang Village.

Liang Qi, a local villager, started to plant sunflowers last year.

"I got the right to use 4,200 mu (about 280 hectares) of land last year, among which 2,400 mu (about 160 hectares) were restored land. The yield per mu can reach over 150 kilograms, with an output value of about 1,500 yuan (around 210 U.S. dollars) per mu," said Liang.

Currently, the village is home to over 10,000 mu (about 667 hectares) of sunflowers, among which 6,000 mu (about 400 hectares) are restored land. During the harvesting period, over 200 seasonal positions are created, bringing over three million yuan (over 419,000 U.S. dollars) income for local farmers.

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