Dendrobium cultivation brings new hope for industrial prosperity
Editor's Note
Building a beautiful countryside is not just about cleaning up mess and disorder to make things look good on the surface; the most fundamental thing is to give play to local distinctive advantages, help people achieve sustainable income growth, and truly strengthen the substance. Shicha Village, Shishan Town, Xiuying District, Haikou City, by developing dendrobium cultivation, has built a high-value-added, recyclable ecological industrial chain, and the dendrobium base is expected to become a scenic spot in all-for-one tourism in the future. In Shicha Village, industrial development and ecological protection not only do not conflict, but also promote each other. Today, our newspaper looks at how Shicha Village gives play to its own advantages and walks out a path to prosperity through green industry.
In the early morning, the dendrobium base in Shishan Town, Haikou City, was bustling with activity. At the base, Hong Yiqian, chairman of the Haikou Shicha Dendrobium Planting Professional Cooperative, introduced to everyone: "Our dendrobium has a bright luster, plump and translucent stems, and is rich in various trace elements. It is a top-grade product."
Whenever he talks about these treasures, Hong Yiqian becomes very excited and proud. In recent years, through developing the dendrobium industry, not only has the entire Shicha Village in Shishan Town, where Hong Yiqian is located, been lifted out of poverty, but it has also brought a high-value-added, recyclable ecological industrial chain, enabling local people to earn a living from tourism and find a path to prosperity.
Standardization + High Quality
Building an Ecological Demonstration Base
Driving along the Shishan Town tourism road, it did not take long to reach the dendrobium base.
Inside the base, on a pile of high-stacked "random stones," each yellow-green dendrobium had its roots deeply embedded in the stones. This pile of "random stones" looked disorderly, but was actually orderly; they were volcanic stones naturally formed through volcanic eruptions and ten thousand years of sedimentation.
Li Wu, director of the production department of the Haikou Shicha Dendrobium Planting Professional Cooperative, introduced: "The Yangshan area where Shishan Town is located has a uniquely advantageous geographical location and climatic conditions, with fertile, selenium-rich soil, very suitable for dendrobium growth, and the dendrobium produced has extremely high nutritional value."
Experts from the College of Environment and Plant Protection of Hainan University also once conducted an investigation in the Yangshan area of Haikou and found that there were as many as 16 species of wild dendrobium in the area. The experts believed that the volcanic stones here are rich in 12 trace elements including selenium, strontium and magnesium, and the irrigation water is volcanic rock underground mineral water, making it very suitable for dendrobium growth, and its quality is unmatched by dendrobium from other regions.
The superiority of natural conditions did not make the operators of the dendrobium base relax in the slightest regarding standardized, high-quality production. In this 200-mu dendrobium base, intelligent sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation systems, a 360° panoramic monitoring system, an integrated water and fertilizer system, temperature and humidity monitoring systems, and a weather station are all fully available.
"Dendrobium likes shade and moisture and can grow in an environment of 10°C-30°C, with 20°C being the most suitable." After saying this, Li Wu gently tapped the phone screen and opened the real-time monitoring system of each device on the mobile phone to check the dynamic data of each factor.
"If the temperature is too high, we can appropriately cool it down. If the temperature is too low, we can also raise it at any time." Real-time monitoring and dynamic adjustment, with integrated agricultural IoT equipment, make it possible to "adjust unsuitable environmental factors at any time." The intelligence, standardization and visualization of production also make the production conditions for dendrobium relatively stable, thereby making dendrobium cultivation efficient and high-quality.
Li Wu revealed that at present, the Haikou Shishan Dendrobium Base has already become the largest standardized production demonstration base for wild dendrobium in the country, with attractive "money" prospects. Shishan Dendrobium has won multiple honors including the leading brand in China's dendrobium industry, the gold award at the 10th China Brand Festival, and one of Haikou's top ten agricultural brands, and has even attracted tourists and producers from all over the country. For more than a year, the phone at the Haikou Shicha Dendrobium Planting Professional Cooperative has not stopped ringing, and orders have kept coming.
Online + Offline
Seeking High Value
With product quality improved, what kind of business model should be developed?
"We must closely rely on the core value of volcanic dendrobium, Shishan's unique ecological environment and locational advantages." Peng Guiyang, chairman of Hainan Dendrobium Health Industry Co., Ltd., was full of confidence in the superior natural conditions of volcanic dendrobium. He has been growing dendrobium for more than 10 years. In his view, volcanic dendrobium has the best quality and the highest nutritional value, "and only the Shishan area nationwide produces volcanic dendrobium."
With Peng Guiyang's support and guidance, the dendrobium base began to target mid-to-high-end customers, face the big health industry, and use the business model of "O2O+F2C+community" to turn consumers into sellers and investors, providing private orders and personalized services.
It is understood that last December, at an online bidding fair for Hainan agricultural products held in Shishan Town, 10,000 jin of volcanic dendrobium futures were snapped up in just 3 minutes. And these 10,000 jin of dendrobium futures directly created 2 million yuan in commercial value for local people.
As the number of cultivation years continues to increase, the output of volcanic dendrobium in Shishan Town will also gradually increase. Li Wu introduced that dendrobium can be harvested continuously for 13 years after one planting, can be harvested once a year, and reaches full production after 3 years, at which time the yield per mu is expected to reach 600 jin.
"At present, the value of volcanic dendrobium in the market is about 400 yuan to 800 yuan per jin, sometimes even over a thousand yuan, and the economic benefits are very considerable." Li Wu revealed that nowadays, local people all firmly believe that by adhering to distinctive development and following the path of Internet development, the crushed stones that were once "good for nothing" can also create wealth for them.
Sightseeing + Experience
An Endless Stream of Tourists
The small paths in the dendrobium base wind and stretch along. Every day, tourists and residents visiting and inspecting the dendrobium base come in an endless stream. At present, going to Shishan for relaxation and leisure on weekends has also become the choice of many residents and tourists.
Hong Yiqian introduced that a 1.5-kilometer tourism sightseeing walking path has been built around the dendrobium base, and combined with the most popular VR experience at present, a dendrobium digital science popularization experience hall has been created, offering plenty of viewing fun. Here, tourists and residents can not only stroll and enjoy the pastoral scenery, but also stop to feel the pleasant experience brought by high technology.
In addition, the dendrobium base has built multiple farmhouse restaurants and homestays, which can provide residents and tourists with three-dimensional services integrating shopping, dining, accommodation and transportation, so that villagers can earn a living from tourism right at their doorstep.
"Not long ago, I renovated my home and freed up 9 rooms to build a homestay. Business is good now, and I can earn several thousand yuan more a year." Wang Sunjie, a villager from Meishe Village, said happily, adding that he also plans to open a farmhouse restaurant himself.
Hong Yiqian introduced that in the future he will not only continue to develop the dendrobium industry, but also introduce a volcanic rose manor and work together with local people to increase income.