Kiwifruit planting paves the way to agricultural prosperity
On November 8, 2016, at the 14th China International Agricultural Trade Fair and the 12th Kunming International Agricultural Expo, kiwifruit from Liupanshui, Guizhou made a big splash. In less than four hours, more than 1,200 jin of large, sweet, thick-fleshed, red-centered kiwifruit sold out completely. In the end, "Shuicheng Kiwifruit" won the gold award for exhibited agricultural products at that year's agricultural trade fair.
"Winning the gold award at the agricultural trade fair is great recognition of the quality of our kiwifruit." Holding the award certificate he had just received, Duan Changyong, vice chairman of the Shuicheng County Kiwifruit Industry Association and general manager of Guizhou Qianheng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., was overjoyed.
In 2012, Duan Changyong left the coal industry where he had worked for more than ten years and turned to kiwifruit cultivation. "Coal, after all, is a non-renewable resource, while high-efficiency agriculture with mountain characteristics is an industry encouraged by the government and has a future!" Duan Changyong said.
Exceptional "natural gift": Shuicheng kiwifruit was served at the Beijing Olympics
China is the place of origin of kiwifruit, and Shuicheng is a nationally famous hometown of wild kiwifruit. A large amount of wild kiwifruit resources is still distributed within its territory, making it an important kiwifruit germplasm repository in China.
From a hometown of wild kiwifruit to a major kiwifruit-growing county, Shuicheng County has enjoyed favorable timing, geographical conditions and popular support. Kiwifruit cultivation in Shuicheng County began in Houchang Town and later spurred on townships and towns such as Panlong, Hongyan and Miluo. By 2016, the county's kiwifruit planting area had reached 100,000 mu, output had reached 12,700 tons, and output value had reached 508 million yuan. In 2008, Shuicheng kiwifruit also became a designated supply fruit for the Beijing Olympics.
Through more than 10 years of domestication and cultivation, combined with the local geographical features and climate environment such as large high-altitude drops, high negative oxygen ions and large day-night temperature differences, Shuicheng red-fleshed kiwifruit has developed a uniquely textured taste.
In 2013, the Shuicheng County Kiwifruit Industry Demonstration Park became one of the "100 Modern High-Efficiency Agriculture Demonstration Parks" focused on by the provincial Party committee and provincial government, and ranked first in the province in comprehensive ranking for three consecutive years. Today, the park has formed a 100-li kiwifruit industry corridor in Shuicheng County with Miluo and Houchang as the core and Shuihuang Road, Guanliu Road and Yuma Road as the links.
"Golden fruit" for poverty alleviation and prosperity
In Shaomi Town, Shuicheng County, where the kiwifruit planting base of Qianheng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. is located, most agricultural land is sloping land. If corn were planted, the annual income per mu would be less than 200 yuan. When they heard that Duan Changyong was going to invest in planting kiwifruit there, young people who had been preparing to go out to work said one after another: "As long as you come to our village to invest in planting kiwifruit, we won't go out to work. We'll come back and work for you. Working at our doorstep lets us take care of the elderly and the children."
Seeing how happy the villagers were, Duan Changyong went to the leaders of the township government. As soon as he explained his idea, the township Party and government leaders immediately said: "As long as you can lead the villagers to prosperity, we will strongly support you!" With the support of the villagers and the local government, in just one month he raised 21 million yuan and registered and established Guizhou Qianheng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd., specializing in kiwifruit cultivation.
Today, the kiwifruit industry covers 32,650 farming households in 18 townships and towns across the county. Through the "three transformations" model of "land into capital, funds into shares, and farmers into shareholders," the kiwifruit industry has become an important industry for local farmers to escape poverty and achieve prosperity. "Of the 35 poor farming households that first worked for me, 29 have now escaped poverty," Duan Changyong said. He personally witnessed the transformation of rural areas involved in kiwifruit cultivation from earthen houses to buildings and from ox carts to cars. "Farmers are also more enthusiastic about participating in cultivation," Duan Changyong said happily.
"Brand matrix" makes the "cake" bigger
Through more than 10 years of development, Shuicheng County has formed the regional public brand "Shuicheng Kiwifruit." Sub-brands such as "Liangdu Red Heart" and "Qianhong" have won the title of famous trademarks of Guizhou Province, and Shuicheng red-fleshed kiwifruit has also successively obtained the Ministry of Agriculture's "Geographical Indication of Agricultural Products" and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine's "National Geographical Indication Protected Product." At present, the Liupanshui Kiwifruit Industry Park has carried out cooperation with the Wuhan Kiwifruit Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guizhou University, the Provincial Academy of Sciences, the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other scientific research institutes, and has established two kiwifruit industry-university-research bases to accelerate kiwifruit variety research and development, cold storage and preservation, processing, and the promotion and application of new technologies, providing technical support and talent guarantees for the development of the Shuicheng kiwifruit industry.
The kiwifruit grown by Duan Changyong is of good quality and enjoys a stellar reputation in Shuicheng. By phone, in person, through intermediaries... other kiwifruit growers in Shuicheng often take the initiative to contact Duan Changyong to ask for the secrets of growing good kiwifruit. Duan Changyong always patiently gives them guidance one by one. Later, as more people came to ask for advice, Duan Changyong had the idea of opening a public-interest service company to provide consultations. In 2016, "Changyong Service Company" was established.
"Good technology should be shared with everyone; only then can the Shuicheng kiwifruit brand become bigger and stronger," Duan Changyong said.
At present, the "brand matrix" of Shuicheng kiwifruit has begun to take shape. With the continuous expansion of planting scale, in addition to the regional public brand "Shuicheng Kiwifruit," brands such as "Qianhong" and "Mi Ni Hong" are also rising strongly and have gained a certain regional and even nationwide influence. On January 4, 2017, the first batch of 5 tons of Liangdu "Mi Ni Hong" kiwifruit went abroad and will be sold in supermarkets in Thailand.
Let the world taste the "sweetness" from Guizhou
Spring has arrived. These past two days, he always finds time to stroll around the orchard, touching the soil to check whether the soil moisture is suitable and checking whether the sprouting rate is normal. "A warm winter is relatively good for the growth of kiwifruit, but it is also not conducive to the control of pests and diseases. However, we have already done a series of work in winter to prevent pests and diseases, such as boiling lime slurry and applying it to the fruit trees to kill insect eggs, and so on."
At present, the thousand-mu orchard of Qianheng Agricultural Development Company has been equipped with an integrated water and fertilizer system, which saves more water and fertilizer. Duan Changyong also sends soil samples to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for soil testing and formula fertilization. Although planting costs and sales prices have increased, the quality of the fruit is also more guaranteed. It has already become "a flower blooming inside the wall but fragrant outside," selling far away to Tianjin and other places.
Agriculture is an industry with high input, a long cycle and slow returns. "In 2012, our planting scale was about more than 300 mu, and now it has reached more than 1,490 mu," Duan Changyong said. The fixed investment per mu is about 20,000 to 26,000, and more than 30 million has now been invested.