Recently, Beixiayi Village in Hekou County has seen truck farmers picking kidney beans in the field with orderly poles.

Hekou County sits halfway up a mountainside and the temperature differences between day and night are so drastic that insects and diseases rarely harm the vegetables here. Therefore, the kidney beans that grow here have good qualities, taste great and are reasonably priced. In the past they were more expensive than other competitors. The county government increased farmer income mainly by encouraging kidney bean farming. Locals have perfected the farming patterns and developed new varieties of the crop, including the “king of beans on the ground”, “king of beans in the hack lever”, and the “number 8 Huashuo beans”. The county has developed a kidney bean cropping district, focusing on the villages east and west of the estuary and Shimenkou Village. For better planting conditions, the county government created a fund of more than one million yuan, dug two wells, installed supporting pipes and electricity supply facilities, and hired experts to give lessons on service, farming skills and marketing to farmers.

There are more than 267 hectares of kidney bean fields in the county with a total output of more than 75,000 yuan per hectare. Kidney beans have become as good as gold and an integral part of bringing wealth to local farmers.