Jindong nursery farmers catch the internet express train, selling seedlings through WeChat Moments
On January 9, with a few taps on a mobile app, several camphor trees from Tangya Town in Jindong District appeared as images in the WeChat Moments of nursery farmer Fang Zhangqun, gaining 50 likes and 42 replies in just 15 minutes.
Fang Zhangqun, who has been in the seedling business for 28 years, is now a well-known seedling industry broker in Jindong. In recent years, WeChat promotion and sales of seedlings have accounted for 90 percent of his business. Having just finished replying to a private chat with a buyer from Quzhou and closing a deal, he said with a smile: "I now have three or four phones, 5,000 friends on one WeChat account, and I have joined hundreds of WeChat groups. Whether buying or selling, I can find information quickly."
The broader the seedling sales channels, the more room there is to raise prices, and the higher the income for nursery farmers. Fang Zhangqun was among the earliest people in Jindong District to buy and sell seedlings online, but he never expected that this sales channel could become his main business. "For nursery farmers to 'go to market' online, they must have high-quality supply sources," said Huang Feilai, head of the Municipal Forestry Seedling Management Station, who often provides technical guidance to nursery farmers.
The transformation of the seedling industry has also spawned a large number of online platforms serving nursery farmers. On November 28 last year, the Miaoyou Seedling Information Service Center was established in Lipu Town, Jindong District. At the same time, product information from dozens of nursery farmers appeared one after another in the Miaoyou WeChat official account. Seedlings paired with an "electronic ID card" provide a more convenient channel for finding seedlings online. "Sales product: arbor; classification: evergreen; product name: Photinia davidsoniana; product specifications: trunk diameter 80-100 cm." In the Miaoyou WeChat official account, this writer clicked through several options in order and could easily find products meeting specific needs. On the interface, the images were clearly visible, and other information was fully displayed.
Changes in consumption habits have made online and offline connections closer and have also innovated the cooperation model between nursery farmers and buyers. Cheng Weida, who runs a bonsai garden of several hundred mu in Caozhai Town, is a standard "second-generation seedling grower." Five years ago, he spent more than 100,000 yuan on advertising in various seedling magazines, but now through the operation of online platforms, such expenses are basically zero, while the results have increased many times over. On ordinary days, the number of large greening companies that maintain long-term online contact with him reaches dozens, and he has established long-term stable supply adjustment relationships with dozens of large seedling farms in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hunan, Jiangxi and other places. "Cultivating premium seedlings at the base and using online platforms to discuss business, what I value is no longer the wealth from a single deal, but the accumulation of contacts, market prospects and other information," Cheng Weida said. Thanks to promotions in previous years, his seedling sales last year were expected to increase by 30 percent over the previous year.
At present, Cheng Weida is seeking partners to jointly build and operate a team. "In my vision, the offline base has specialized technical backbone staff for management, and online there are also business representatives who understand the market to handle operations. Only in this way can I free up my hands to expand the planting area and make the industry bigger and stronger."
It is reported that Jindong District is stepping up efforts to promote the "Internet Plus" industry model. Through a series of measures such as centralized demonstration training, expert visits to the countryside for guidance, and field trips to study real examples, many nursery farmers have obtained first-hand information and technology. At the same time, it is strengthening rural infrastructure construction and improving conditions for internet access.