Ecological Orchard Fulfills He Xinde's Dream of Prosperity

"Fish are raised in the ponds for angling, trees are planted along the pond banks and their fruit gives off fragrance; grass is grown under the trees to raise chickens and geese, pig manure feeds the fish and fertilizes the fields; three-dimensional planting and breeding are combined with sightseeing, low-lying fields are transformed into pick-your-own orchards; fruit trees are planted for industrial integration, and biogas lights up the road of entrepreneurship." Recently, the author came to the "Peach Blossom Spring"-style modern agricultural ecological sightseeing park built by He Xinde, a science and technology demonstration household in Hezhai Village, Youfangdian Township, Zhengyang County, Henan Province, on wasteland and low-lying land, integrating ecological planting and breeding, improved variety breeding, demonstration and extension, field training, entertainment experiences, leisure sightseeing, and fruit and vegetable picking.

In 2007, carrying the savings he had accumulated from running a restaurant in the county town, He Xinde took a fancy to a 2.67-hectare piece of wasteland in his hometown of Hezhai Village, developed understory economy, and began his dream of an "ecological orchard." He hired an excavator to dig two fish ponds covering 0.87 hectares, and also went to the Henan Academy of Forestry and scientific research institutions, planting bases and horticultural markets in Xinzheng City and other places to conduct investigations and research. He also signed up for a training course on developing ecological agriculture and characteristic forest fruit cultivation techniques for new-type professional farmers, jointly held by departments such as the Agriculture Bureau and the Forestry Bureau.

In order to effectively and comprehensively utilize resources, he made full use of forest land resources, adopting multiple three-dimensional ecological planting and breeding models such as "pig-fish-fruit" and "forest-grass-fish-vegetable" to develop a circular economy. He used the forest land to plant 0.33 hectares of alfalfa grass, raised free-range chickens and white lotus geese under the trees, built 83 pig pens beside the pond, set up a pig farm, raised 830 Landrace lean-meat pigs, and built a biogas digester at the pig farm. The manure discharged by the pigs went directly into the biogas digester, and the biogas produced through fermentation was used for cooking and for lighting the ecological park. He also used biogas residue, vegetable leaves and forage grass to feed geese, fish and pigs, sprayed fruit trees and vegetables with biogas slurry, and used fruit tree leaves and organic fertilizer produced by livestock and poultry to fertilize fields and improve the soil. Through the circular utilization of agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and fishery, he not only developed ecological agriculture but also protected the ecological environment, achieving sustainable development through the ecological cycle combining planting and breeding.

In summer, he hung frequency-vibration green insect-killing lamps high on the treetops. Whiteflies, noctuid moths and other pests vied to rush toward the light, were immediately killed by the electrostatic net, and fell into the collection bags under the lamp frames. He Xinde said that during the peak period of insect pests, one insect-killing lamp could kill 1 kg of insects in one night, basically meeting the demand of the free-range chickens in the orchard for insects, and also reducing pesticide contamination of the fruit. Circular planting and breeding saved him more than 10,000 yuan in planting and breeding costs each year, with comprehensive income from the four industries reaching more than 300,000 yuan and annual net income reaching 100,000 yuan.

Because he adopted standardized pollution-free planting and breeding techniques, his fruit, white lotus roots, specialty vegetables, pigs, free-range chickens, white geese and fish all became pollution-free green ecological foods. Consumers came to the park by reputation to pick, taste and buy on the spot. His ecological agriculture sightseeing park became a "field supermarket" and a "science and technology supermarket," and also a modern version of the "Peach Blossom Spring." According to reports, since the park was established 10 years ago, its comprehensive income from agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery has reached more than 1 million yuan.

After 10 years of unremitting efforts, He Xinde has built the ecological orchard into a "golden signboard" for new-type professional farmers developing modern ecological agriculture, and it has been named a "field school" and a leisure agriculture ecological sightseeing park for new-type professional farmers throughout the county. Today, relying on the ecological orchard, He Xinde established the Zhengyang County Xinyuan Circular Agriculture Research Center, adopting the form of "ecological agriculture + base + farmers" to lead young farmers onto the path of circular agriculture, green development and common prosperity. In 2012, he was elected by villagers as a county people's congress representative, becoming a spokesperson for modern ecological agriculture.