How the flower and nursery stock industry integrates into rural aesthetics
In January 2016, the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Integrated Development of the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Industries in Rural Areas", which explicitly proposed developing multiple types of rural industrial integration, including the combination of agriculture and tourism. As China's industrial structural adjustment continues to deepen, both the flower and nursery stock industry and the tourism industry inevitably face a new round of transformation and upgrading. Under the guidance of the concept of rural aesthetics, when the two meet, what kind of sparks will fly?
I. Current status of the flower and nursery stock industry
1. Industry scale continues to expand
In the 1980s, along with reform and opening up and the needs of urbanization, China's flower and nursery stock industry flourished as an emerging industry. By the end of 2014, China's flower and nursery stock production area reached 1.2702 million hm2, sales reached 127.945 billion yuan, and export earnings reached 620 million USD. Across the country, there were 15,000 medium and large flower enterprises with a planting area of 3 hm2 or an annual turnover of 5 million yuan or more, and the protected cultivation area reached 130,000 hm2. China has become the world's largest flower production base, an important flower-consuming country, and a flower import and export trading country.
2. Market demand continues to slump
In the broader environment, the slowdown in national economic growth, the continued downturn in the real estate industry, tight government finances and restrictions on image projects have led to a reduction in landscaping projects and lower demand for landscaping nursery stock; at the micro level, blind expansion of nursery stock production, overcapacity and a single product structure have led to declining transaction volumes and falling prices. The difficulties facing the nursery stock industry cannot be ignored.
II. Opportunities of the times
1. Favorable national macro policies
The report of the 18th National Congress clearly put forward the concepts of "building a Beautiful China" and "new-type urbanization". New-type urbanization is urbanization with the basic characteristics of urban-rural coordination, urban-rural integration, industry-city interaction, conservation and intensive use,ecological livability, and harmonious development; while building a Beautiful China emphasizes placing ecological civilization construction in a prominent position and integrating it into all aspects and the entire process of economic construction, cultural construction, social construction and so on. At the same time, in October 2015, "Beautiful China" was incorporated into the "13th Five-Year Plan". The two are consistent in terms of the importance of ecological civilization construction. We have reason to believe that in the future China's flower and nursery stock industry will have more specific policy support, stronger government support and more ample funding guarantees.
2. Growth in consumption among urban and rural residents
With the continuous development of the social economy, people's living standards have gradually improved, especially with the relatively rapid growth in the number of middle-income people in urban and rural areas. Coupled with government guidance on consumption, people have higher-level requirements for quality of life. Flower and nursery stock consumer goods are entering millions of households. In recent years, the popularity of small potted plants, succulent bonsai and courtyard landscaping is good evidence of this.
3. Rise of the leisure consumption market
The tense and fast pace of life has made sub-health a widespread "urban disease", and with the accelerating pace of aging, the issues of health preservation and elderly care have begun to attract more and more attention. Whether it is sub-health or health preservation and elderly care, both are pursuits of a healthy life and the release of inner pressure, and both are inseparable from high-standard demand for elegant living and travel environments and green food, which happens to align with the development of the flower and nursery stock industry.
4. Related business forms flourishing in diversity
Urbanization is a major trend and general direction of world development over the past century. However, more and more people are beginning to notice that while we enjoy immense material wealth, we also face problems and challenges such as climate change, ecological deterioration and mental restlessness. The answer lies in people's growing alienation from nature, so returning to nature has become a consensus. Nature education, horticultural therapy, floral art, potted plants, bonsai and other flower and nursery stock-related industries have all become new attempts by people to build a connection with nature.
III. Where is the way forward
Facing new changes in the market and new opportunities of the times, transformation and upgrading of the flower and nursery stock industry is the only way out. Judging from the current development status of the flower and nursery stock industry, it shows characteristics such as a shift from the B-end municipal landscaping market to the C-end lifestyle consumption market, from nursery stock maintenance to comprehensive nursery stock services, and from simple nursery stock sales to consumer experience. Combining the characteristics of market changes, exploring diversified development of the nursery stock industry can draw inspiration from the following directions.
1. Develop three-dimensional economy
Factors such as the nursery stock market entering a downturn and adjustment period and rising land rents are squeezing the profits of the flower and nursery stock industry, and making full use of space to develop a three-dimensional economy is a good choice. The Beida Weiming Group selected Tang County in Baoding City as a demonstration site for under-forest economy, interplanting oil peonies under forest trees; Liangzhuang Village, Zhenglou Town, Yanghe New District, Suqian City, developed breeding under the forest while developing the nursery stock industry; Mutun Village, Changxing Town, Runan County, Henan Province, interplanted Chinese medicinal herbs based on the nursery stock industry. Developing a three-dimensional ecological economy for nursery stock fully improves land utilization, saves planting costs, improves comprehensive benefits and greatly reduces market risks.
2. Connect with the health industry
The flower and nursery stock industry has inherent advantages in connecting with the health industry. For health, the flower and nursery stock industry means a beautiful, healthy and comfortable environment... By using the characteristics of flowers and nursery stock themselves, their health factors can be actively explored, the industrial chain can be expanded, landscape scenery featuring visual pleasure can be developed, healthy diets based on the concept of homology of medicine and food in traditional Chinese medicine can be developed, beauty products featuring flowers and nursery stock can be researched and developed, and the horticultural therapy popular abroad can be introduced, thereby increasing the added value of the flower and nursery stock industry.