Small sand onion becomes a big industry, driving farmers and herders to increase income and become rich

Sand onion is an important part of the sand industry in Alxa Left Banner. In recent years, in order to accelerate the development of efficient and distinctive modern agriculture and animal husbandry, Alxa Left Banner has promoted the adjustment of the agricultural and animal husbandry industrial structure, vigorously developed efficient greenhouse sand onion cultivation, and strived to achieve increased efficiency in agriculture and animal husbandry and increased income for farmers and herders.

These days, the greenhouse sand onions of Li Cheng'an, a herder from Bayan Hude Gacha, have just grown to maturity. He said that each greenhouse shed has 6 fen of land, can produce eight crops of sand onions a year, and can earn a net annual income of 30,000 yuan, with which he is very satisfied.

Farmer Li Cheng'an told reporters: "In the past, when growing two sheds of vegetables, two people were busy beyond measure. Now that I grow seven sheds of sand onions, basically I alone can handle it. After the cooperative produces them and comes to the shed, they are loaded and taken away. People are free now, it saves trouble, people are not too busy, and income has doubled."

Li Cheng'an was originally a herder from Erkehaxixia. After relocating to Bayan Hude, he began trying to grow sand onions and also joined the local Huaying Sand Onion Industry Farmers' Professional Cooperative, valuing the economic benefits of growing sand onions.

Xie Ping, head of the Huaying Sand Onion Industry Farmers' Professional Cooperative, said: "One mu of sand onions is equivalent to the income of ten mu of corn. That is still at the past corn price, that is, a corn purchase price of one yuan. Now if it is sixty-some fen, it is equivalent to the income of 20 mu of corn land. In agriculture, the sand onion industry saves water, labor, time and trouble."

The cooperative not only provides technology for farmers and herders like Li Cheng'an who have transferred and changed production, but also has dedicated brokers providing one-on-one guidance. In the greenhouse of sand onion grower Li Cheng'an, Wu Zhiliang, a broker of the Huaying Sand Onion Industry Farmers' Professional Cooperative, had already come over and was waiting to purchase sand onions.

Farmer Li Cheng'an told reporters with a smile: "I was also an outsider before and had never grown them. After joining the cooperative, they often invite some experts to provide us with technical guidance. It is quite good..."

There is no need to worry about technology, and likewise no need to worry about sales. The brokers of the Huaying Sand Onion Industry Farmers' Professional Cooperative purchase the freshly harvested sand onions in a unified way, and then sell them in a unified way.

Wu Zhiliang, a broker of the Huaying Cooperative, told reporters: "I have been selling greenhouse sand onions from Bayan Hude Gacha for more than three years. Sand onions are quite popular, mainly sold to surrounding cities such as Yinchuan, Wuwei, and Jingtai, as well as Hohhot, Baotou, Linhe, and Wuhai in this part of the Inner Mongolia region."

At present, Alxa Left Banner has more than 200 greenhouse sand onion sheds, with an annual output of more than 1.3 million jin, and a total output value of more than 5.3 million yuan, further driving farmers and herders to transfer and change production, increase income, and become rich.