Growing Flowers to Prosperity: An Interview with Henan Pingdingshan Flower Farmer Tao Zhanzhu
On December 1, in the nursery of Tao Zhanzhu, a villager of Xingpu Village, Caozhen Township, Zhanhe District, Tao Zhanzhu (first from right) was busy potting flowers. Tao Zhanzhu, now 64 years old, said that in 2003, through land transfer, he planted sixty to seventy varieties of flowers and landscaping tree species on more than 40 mu of farmland. After more than ten years of exploration, the seedlings he cultivates have long been well known and sell well. While making himself prosperous, he also arranged for more than 10 villagers to work year-round in the nursery. In 2011, Tao Zhanzhu was rated as a farmer technician.
Agricultural Expo and Flower Expo Boost Sales: Observations from a Visit to Baihua Village Flower Market
The holding of this Agricultural Expo · Flower Expo not only gathered crowds but also brought business opportunities. Yesterday, the reporter went to the flower trading market in Baihua Village, Jiuhu Town, to visit flower merchants and learn about the sales effect brought by the expo's “east wind.”
Self-Driving Tourists Become the “Main Force”
Early in the morning on the 21st, the merchants in the flower trading market of Baihua Village, Jiuhu Town, had all opened for business, with various flowers, grasses, and trees neatly placed at the store entrances, growing very vigorously. There was a wide variety of flower and potted plant specimens, a riot of color that was dazzling to the eye. Employees of the Narcissus Garden in Baihua Village, Jiuhu Town, Longhai City, were busy packaging a batch of products to be shipped to Hong Kong, China. “Since the beginning of this year, the company has sold products far and wide across the country as well as to South Korea, Japan, the EU, and other regions, and for this reason it has also expanded its base area to make it easier to stock goods.” The person in charge of the company told the reporter, “During the period of the expo, the customer flow in the store has clearly been larger than usual, especially many self-driving tourists, who usually buy a few pots of flowers to take away.”
During the reporter's interview, Chen Yongqing, a merchant who had come from Guangxi to attend the expo, happened to be encountered. “This time I came to attend the expo partly to visit, and partly because I want to learn some experience in the flower trade.”
Succulents Are Highly Popular
Succulents are one of the potted plants welcomed by the public. At present, more and more flower farmers in the Baihua Village flower trading market are joining the ranks of selling succulents, and the succulent market continues to heat up. The reporter learned on site that many vendors in the flower trading market sell hundreds of pots of succulents per day. Consumers include not only fashionable young people, but also some middle-aged flower lovers attracted by these “interesting” plants. Ms. Liu, who lives in the urban area, told the reporter while picking and choosing in front of the shelves: “On the weekend I took my son to see the expo, and passing by here, I wanted to come in and take a look. Succulents have good meanings and good appearance. I bought them to give to my child and put them in his bedroom; they are very cute.”
At the Longhai Shangyi Succulent Plant Production and Sales Park, the reporter saw succulents displayed on the shelves in a thousand postures and rich varieties; some were crystal clear and small and exquisite, while others had thick petals and large bodies and were charmingly naive. Zhu Jianzong, the person in charge of the production and sales park, told the reporter: “Succulents can be called the cute ones of the plant world; they are short and stout, plump, fleshy, and round. They have strong adaptability, are easy to propagate, and come in diverse forms. They are a relatively ideal type of indoor potted flower and are deeply loved by residents.”
Tengzhou City Lunan Flower Trading Center: The Flower Industry Highlights Flower Farmers' Path to Prosperity
For days in a row, residents coming to the Lunan Flower Trading Center to buy flowers have been an endless stream, and the flower farmers are grinning from ear to ear with joy. “In winter I want to add a bit of greenery to my home, so I buy a few pots of flowers to decorate it. They are both beautiful and environmentally friendly, and they can also make people feel refreshed; there's nothing better!” said Wang Xiaya, a resident, happily.
The Lunan Flower Trading Center is only one of the highlights of our city's (Tengzhou City's) development of the seed and flower industry. In recent years, our city has scientifically formulated a development plan for flowers and nursery stock, integrated various resources, and actively expanded the planting area. It has successively built 18 large-scale nursery stock production bases, including the Northern Rare Nursery Stock Base, the Tengguohong Flower and Nursery Stock Breeding Center, and the Ronghe Flower and Nursery Stock Industrial Park, and newly introduced 19 kinds of famous and excellent flowers and nursery stock such as rosemary, North American crabapple, and Chinese corktree. At present, our city's large flower markets have grown to 3, nursery stock breeding bases have grown to 252, flower and nursery stock planting and operating households have reached more than 1,500, and the area of flowers and nursery stock has reached 65,000 mu.
In addition, the city's forestry department has repeatedly organized relevant production enterprises and individuals to go elsewhere to learn management techniques, issued opinions on the development of the seed and flower industry, formulated land transfer policies, allowed shareholding through methods such as leasing, transfer, subcontracting, inheritance, and mortgage, and implemented unified planning and unified adjustment for flower and nursery stock areas, promoting the rapid development of the seed and flower industry and further driving agricultural efficiency and farmers' income growth. At present, our city has become an important flower and nursery stock breeding base in the Jiangbei region, a logistics transfer station and domestication base for flowers and nursery stock between north and south, with an annual output value of 1.28 billion yuan, driving employment for 56,000 people.