E-commerce startups help raise farmers' income in Sichuan

A local cooperative in Sichuan Province is turning to the Internet to help expand its beekeeping business.

Tucked into Sichuan's mountainous region of Qingchuan County, Wang Shujan has been attempting to grow her beekeeping cooperative, the Chuanshen Agri-Products Company.

Wang, who used to work for an e-commerce company, believes the cooperation model between her company and local famers is expanding their reach when it comes to the sale of their honey.

"E-commerce allows me to reach a wide range of customers. It's easily accessible and used mostly by young people, so I can always share my new thoughts and designs online. And now we have developed a new model of business by merging e-commerce with a cooperative," Wang said.

The beekeeping cooperative involves nearly 500 households across Qingchuan. 

Wang's company provides boxes for the hives and offers free training for the local beekeepers.

Once the cooperative's farmers produce the honey, the company buys it at prices above market rates. 

For locals like Li Changqing, keeping bees on his property has been a sound financial move.

"I am planning to expand to 20 bee hives this year. They can produce 25 kilograms of honey annually, making me an additional income of over 2,500 yuan. That's enough to buy daily necessities," said Li.

Honey bee farming has become an important source of income for farmers in the region. 

The local government has been providing policy support in the form of agriculture incentives to help bolster the local economy. 

"I've proposed that farmers work more closely with local companies, as companies know the market better. I've also proposed the setting up of large-scale operations and specialized cooperatives, so that farmers can get more support from companies. It will help them produce what the market wants," said Zuo Wanjun, a local official in Qingchuan.

Farmers in Qingchuan took extensive losses during the deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

Part of the recovery process has been to adopt new strategies to increase farmers' incomes.

This has led to a boom in both beekeeping and the cultivation of more flowers, something which goes hand-in-hand and has also provided new opportunities to a region which would otherwise still be struggling economically.