Green on the go

The cooperatives have drawn increasing numbers of local Tibetans in Qumarleb county. WANG ZHUANGFEI/CHINA DAILY

At times when he doesn't need to work for the cooperative, Zhaxi Gongbao and the other members usually work side jobs such as driving trucks to earn extra cash.

"In the past we had only husbandry incomes, and we barely had enough people and skills to look after both our yaks and goats," says Zhaxi Gongbao, explaining that his family's income has doubled now compared to the past.

"Our profit has been increasing every year. Many more herdsmen are willing to join us," says Zhajia, president of the cooperative.

When it was first started, the cooperative had only 22 households, with 500 yaks and 500 goats. The cooperative's benefits and management style have won the trust of its members, Zhajia says.

Now it has 45 households, with 1,500 yaks and 2,800 goats under its management.

The local government also has sought to upgrade agriculture here by promoting special crops such as yuangen, a kind of turnip that grows well on the highland and has higher yield than traditional crops like barley.

The turnip has a long history of growing on the plateau and its leaves are used as animal feed.

The tubers, however, are rich in microelements and have an anti-hypoxic effect.

After experiments, local agronomists have succeeded in planting the turnip on higher land that was barren earlier.

Natural fertilizers such as yak dung are used, and that has made the land richer for yuangen cultivation, local officials say.

In Chengduo county of Yushu, a factory has been set up where yuangen is processed into juice and snacks. The products are sold in different parts of Qinghai and the Tibet autonomous region.

According to Li Hongwei, general manager of the factory, the processing started with the funding of the local government after a major earthquake in 2013. Since then the unit, which was established in 2004, has developed several products based on the crop.

Besides its own growing area of more than 17 hectares, the factory has established cooperatives with local farmers.

"We buy from them－1 yuan per half kilogram. The farmers are very happy about the business," says Li.