Exploring Tibet: Farmers manage to grow fruits, vegetables despite harsh conditions

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We continue with our special series on Tibet. For some Tibetans, an apple a day is a luxury. Fresh fruits and vegetables are scarce or otherwise expensive. That's because the area's harsh natural conditions on the plateau stop these crops from surviving there. However, things are changing in Ngari prefecture of western Tibet, as Zheng Quanbin finds out.

Tibetan farmer Konchok Sangmo still can't believe that she's working on a farm growing fruits and vegetables. And it's in her home county Burang.

Large swathes of the county are taken up by mountains and desert, leaving little farmland available. Drought and low temperatures make growing conditions even worse.

KONCHOK SANGMO FARMER "We didn't have many fruits and vegetables here in Burang. There were no tomatoes, peaches, watermelons or cucumbers. People could only grow cabbages, radishes and potatoes, and they could be very expensive."

But things began to change in 2013, when these greenhouses sprang up, funded by massive government-led investment.

Although many doubted the scheme would work, the authorities decided to give it a go after surveys on the local soil and water.

After trial and error, more than 50 kinds of fruits and vegetables have proved viable for this region. Local people are hailing it as a miracle on the plateau.

The farm now employs forty people. Experts from Shaaxi in central China have been hired to teach them how to grow the crops.

GUO JULIANG AGRICULTURAL EXPERT "We've been training local farmers over the past six years, and they have acquired the skills to grow vegetables that people usually eat. They are very interested in and passionate about learning these skills."

Now the county's entire population -- about ten thousand -- have access to locally-produced fruits and vegetables. That has largely brought down the prices.

And for farmers like Konchok, they get more than the fresh and cheaper vegetables.

KONCHOK SANGMO FARMER "We lease our land to build the greenhouses and get 13-hundred yuan each year, and we can work here. Every day we get paid 150 yuan. That's much more than when we were growing barley."

Burang's success has led to five similar farms being established across the Ngari prefecture. One in the neighboring county of Gar has succeeded in testing soiless crop cultivation. This involves crops being grown in constantly circulating solutions full of nutrients. Experts say such techniques will make the most of space and water resources.

These farms are called "agricultural demonstrative zones". Authorities hope the operations demonstrated here can be passed on to more local farmers. ZHENG QUANBIN, CGTN,IN NGARI PREFECTURE, WESTERN TIBET.