Pingquan, Hebei: Five Measures Achieve Remarkable Results in Developing the Edible Mushroom Industry

It is understood that during the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, Pingquan, Hebei, developed its edible mushroom industry through “five measures,” achieving a rapid transformation and upgrade from small to large and then from large to strong. The edible mushroom industry has become the county's agricultural pillar industry with the greatest advantages and characteristics, the most complete industrial chain, the strongest radiating and driving capacity, the greatest benefits to farmers, and the largest domestic and international influence. During the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, it helped 50,000 farmers achieve stable poverty alleviation, provided employment for 100,000 farmers each year, reached a production scale of 500 million bags, an output of 500,000 tons, and an industrial chain output value of 5 billion yuan. For five consecutive years, it was rated by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine as a national-level demonstration zone for quality and safety of exported food and agricultural products (edible mushrooms).

First, it established an industrial development path of “enterprises as the leader, bases as the support, standards as the core, brands as the guide, and the market as the orientation.” It cultivated and strengthened 45 leading edible mushroom enterprises, including Senyuan Company, Runlong Company, Puheyuan Company, Jindaotian Company, and Yiyuan Company, among which 4 are provincial-level leading enterprises and 4 are municipal-level leading enterprises. It created enterprise brands such as “Senyuan,” “Runlong,” and “Puheyuan,” and product brands such as “Gufangyuan,” “Baigu Yan,” and “Puheyuan.” The regional brands “Pingquan Shiitake” and “Pingquan Nameko” obtained national geographical indication certification, and their product market share and brand influence rank at the forefront of the industry;

Second, it adopted an overall promotion mechanism of “government leadership, departmental coordination, enterprise as the main body, industry self-discipline, and public collaboration.” It established an edible mushroom industry development leading group, headed by the county magistrate with the supervising deputy county magistrate as deputy head and main heads of relevant departments such as agriculture, forestry, water affairs, development and reform, finance, and poverty alleviation as members, as well as a county edible mushroom industry service bureau. It formulated special support policies and made every effort to promote industrial development, achieving the optimal allocation of production factors such as capital, technology, and manpower;

Third, it formulated 14 provincial and municipal local standards, including the “Technical Regulations for the Production of Pollution-Free Off-Season Shiitake,” for standardized production. This greatly reduced the contamination rate, increased the production scale at an average annual rate of 28.5%, built a standardized production base area of 60,000 mu, and achieved a standardization coverage rate of over 92%;

Fourth, it established a quality and safety traceability system for exported food and agricultural products with production records, queryable information, traceable flows, accountable responsibilities, and recallable products. This ensured the food safety of output products. Products are exported to 16 countries and regions including Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, the United States, the European Union, and Russia, earning more than 20 million US dollars in foreign exchange annually;

Fifth, it promoted more than 10 replicable new agricultural industrialization business models, such as “leading enterprise (professional cooperative) + franchise park + industrial worker (poor household).” In the county, 35,000 farming households and more than 100,000 people are engaged in edible mushroom production, radiating and driving more than 20 cities and counties in 6 surrounding provinces and regions to develop edible mushrooms, achieving an average annual scale growth benefit of 57.7%.