Southwestern China's Sichuan Province is known for its world-famous cuisine, giant pandas, and agriculture. Agricultural products, such as oranges, play a pivotal role in the region's economic development. Zheng Songwu reports from Zizhong County.

Sichuan is one of the biggest agricultural provinces in China, boasting 17 national modern agricultural parks. Its grain output has remained over 35 billion kilograms for three consecutive years since 2020.

Zizhong County has long been famed for its red juice oranges. Local authorities imported the orange variety from Italy in 1992 and developed it into the red juice oranges we know today.

ZHENG SONGWU Sichuan Province "Here are about 50 hectares of red juice oranges, or blood oranges as they said. They usually blossom in March, but the oranges will be mature and ready for picking next January."

The local cooperative was established through the generous contribution of land by local farmers, who joined forces for orange cultivation. Su Qigang serves as the cooperative's manager.

SU QIGANG Manager of the cooperative Zizhong County, Sichuan Province "This marks the fourth year since we planted these orange trees, and the fruit will be ready for picking for the first time next January. Over 100 households have joined the cooperative. An estimated 350,000 kilograms oranges are expected to be harvested, generating one million to two million yuan."

Data shows there are over 13,000 hectares of red juice oranges in Zizhong County, producing 400,000 tonnes of the fruit, which accounts for 60 percent of China. The fruit has also been sold to other countries, including Russia, Spain, and Thailand.

Apart from the Oranges, the local government also built an agricultural demonstration park to develop integrated agriculture.

LI LI Director of Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Zizhong County, Sichuan Province "We have also introduced fish-farming in our agricultural park, meaning we built ponds beneath the mountains to breed fish using orange tree leaves or other organic waste. This approach also enables us to water the trees with the water from the fish ponds. We've utilized tree waste for breeding black pigs, and there is an enterprise in our park dedicated to researching and breeding new pig varieties. This allows us to study, breed, cultivate, and sell our products."

Sichuan continues to develop agriculture, incorporating high-tech methods. By 2030, it's expected that the grain output will reach 380 billion kilograms per year and 65 percent of the farmers are expected to harvest using machinery. Zheng Songwu, CGTN, Sichuan Province.