How does the construction of modern agricultural parks drive the development of modern agriculture?

In recent years, Luanping County, Hebei Province, has leveraged the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development national strategy platform, centered on the overall goal of modern agricultural development, focused on developing high-quality and efficient agriculture, fully relied on its favorable natural environment and superior location advantages, and solidly advanced agricultural park construction, continuously raising the level of agricultural modernization, and effectively promoting agricultural efficiency, farmers' income growth and rural stability. Through the construction of modern agricultural parks, good economic, social and ecological benefits have been achieved, exploring a new path for Luanping County to advance agricultural structural adjustment, transform the agricultural development model, and build a new socialist countryside.

Model Exploration

Park construction will build a modern agricultural park according to the planning framework of "one core, two zones, five major segments, four systems." "One core": establish and improve the park management system, equip and perfect scientific research and development institutions, do a good job in agricultural creative display, gather and absorb leading enterprises, and use new systems, new technologies and new products as the core driving force for the county's modern agricultural development; "two zones": the 10,000-mu modern circular agriculture park in the Chaohe River basin, mainly based on planting and breeding bases and primary processing of agricultural products, with Hushiha Town as the core, with a total area of 880 sq km; and the 10,000-mu modern high-tech agriculture demonstration zone in the Luanhe River basin, mainly based on boutique park display and deep processing of agricultural products, with Datun Township as the core, with a total area of 750 sq km; "five major segments": the protected vegetable production segment, the fruit and medicinal herb planting segment, the livestock and poultry breeding segment, the agricultural and sideline product processing segment, and the leisure tourism segment; "four systems": the scientific research and development system, the agricultural product quality and safety system, the ecological circular system, and the green brand system. According to the park's overall plan, by 2020, the modern agricultural park construction area will reach 30,000 mu, the number of enterprises and farmers' cooperatives entering the park will reach 50, and the park will become a national-level modern agricultural park with reasonable planning and layout, scientific resource allocation, a complete industrial chain, complete supporting facilities, obvious economic benefits and strong radiating and driving capacity. Through the park's radiating and driving effects, Luanping County's protected vegetable area will reach 100,000 mu, Chinese medicinal herb planting area will reach 200,000 mu, broiler chicken raising volume will reach 100 million birds, meat duck raising volume will reach 10 million birds, and pig raising volume will reach 1.1 million head.

Typical Example

The Beijing Meilüyuan (Luanping) Modern Agricultural Industrial Park project settled in Daiyingzi Village, Luanping County, Hebei Province in August 2012. The project plans to cover an area of 6,000 mu (including 5,000 mu of barren hills and forest land), with a planned total investment of 200 million yuan, mainly building vegetable and strawberry greenhouse gardens, fruit picking and sightseeing gardens, large-scale breeding bases, and related sub-projects such as deep processing of agricultural products, cold-chain logistics, and water recreation, with supporting facilities such as an ecological restaurant and leisure sightseeing. Up to now, nearly 50 million yuan of investment has been completed. Through land transfer, a 390-mu high-standard solar greenhouse garden has been built and put into production and operation; the land preparation for a 460-mu forest and fruit sightseeing and picking garden and the buyout of more than 20,000 trees have been completed; and an ecological restaurant with a business area of 2,500 sq m integrating dining and accommodation has been built. After a year of planning, construction and production simultaneously, the park's development has begun to take shape and has achieved relatively good economic and social benefits.

Example Results

First, agricultural operation has shifted from dispersed to intensive, and basic conditions have been effectively improved. After land transfer, the traditional model of dispersed household operation and backward production methods of the past were changed. A cumulative investment of more than 30 million yuan was made to build 100 fruit and vegetable solar greenhouses and more than 400 mu of forest and fruit sightseeing and picking gardens in contiguous areas, with supporting infrastructure such as water, electricity and roads, consolidating the basic conditions for agricultural production and laying a solid material foundation for sustained increases in agricultural production and income.

Second, agricultural production has shifted from traditional to modern, and the leading industry has improved in quality and efficiency. In production, the park changed the traditional farming methods of the past. In accordance with green, organic and pollution-free requirements, the production process fully achieved standardization, cleanliness and harmlessness, realizing high yield and high quality of agricultural products and enhancing market competitiveness. The strawberries, specialty vegetables and other products produced by the park all enter high-end markets in Beijing and other places through membership delivery at prices more than 5 times higher than the market, achieving good economic benefits. The park has therefore become a designated fruit and vegetable supply base for the Ministry of Finance and the provincial finance department.

Third, farmers' identity has shifted from farmers to workers, and income levels have risen substantially. With the start of construction of the park, the formerly genuine farmers of Daiyingzi Village became agricultural industrial workers. Since the beginning of this year, the park has arranged stable employment for nearly 100 laborers from the village. Through land transfer rent income plus work income, farmers have doubled their income without leaving the land or their hometown. According to statistics, this year, in addition to nearly 1 million yuan in land rent income, the villagers of Daiyingzi Village earned more than 1.8 million yuan in wages from working in the park, driving an increase of 5,000 yuan in per capita cash income in the village. After all subsequent projects of the park are completed, it is expected to drive the employment of more than 300 local farmers.

Fourth, the rural environment has shifted from dirty and messy to tidy, and the appearance of the village has improved markedly. Park construction has not only brought tangible economic benefits to local farmers; gratifying changes are also reflected in many aspects. Especially in the rural appearance, through the park's facility investment and radiating influence, the village's infrastructure conditions have been further improved, farmers are gradually changing the bad habits in their traditional way of life, and are consciously joining in activities to improve the village environment, so the village appearance has become tidy and orderly. At the same time, this is also reflected in farmers' ideas and concepts, the village atmosphere and folk customs have further improved, and the enthusiasm of the broad masses of farmers to become prosperous and build a beautiful homeland relying on the park has never been higher.