Small chives exported overseas help poor households escape poverty
On November 30, the author walked into Dongwang Village, Jicui Township, Fangshan County. As soon as I stepped into this far-famous "chive village," a rich chive aroma hit my nose. Looking into the distance, that touch of chive green was like rhythmic musical notes, playing a movement of life under the blowing of the cold wind.
"This kind of chive is called German small chives. The planting area has now reached 100 mu. This chive can be cut 6 times a year, one mu can yield 4000 kg, and each kg can sell for 3.8 yuan," Qin Tangui, general manager of the Fangshan County Hongyun Yutai Agriculture, Forestry and Animal Husbandry Professional Cooperative, told the author.
It is understood that this special German small chive, compared with ordinary chives, has a richer aroma and is currently mainly sold to Germany and the United States. Moreover, this chive can be cut again and again like Chinese chives and sold. Speaking of growing German small chives, Qin Tangui told the author that it all came from a chance coincidence. At a training session organized by the provincial Department of Agriculture, after hearing the experience introduction of a chive enterprise in Youyu County, he developed a strong interest in chives. So he visited and investigated many places and began to engage in chive planting.
Seeing that the chives he grew had good sales and were a good money-making project, Qin Tangui had a new idea. He wanted to motivate the villagers to develop this industry together and lead everyone to escape poverty and become rich. So he established the Fangshan County Hongyun Yutai Agriculture, Forestry and Animal Husbandry Professional Cooperative and widely mobilized villagers to join in the chive industry.
"Because I am a native of Dongwang Village, and our village has a relatively large poor population, I wanted to bring them in too so we could become rich together. The cooperative adopts the 'cooperative + base + farmer' cooperation model, with a total of 47 member households, including 38 poor households. The income directly brought to poor households is 10,000 yuan a year," Qin Tangui stated the original intention of establishing the Fangshan County Hongyun Yutai Agriculture, Forestry and Animal Husbandry Professional Cooperative.
After less than a year of planting, Dongwang Village's chives now have a rising reputation in Fangshan County. Their products travel across the ocean and are sold as far as Germany, the United States and other places, becoming one of the indispensable seasonings on overseas dining tables.
"We are better off growing chives than growing other crops. Corn, potatoes and millet are quite troublesome to grow. Not only do they have to be planted every year, but the economic benefits are also not good. This chive can be planted once and continue growing for five years. Besides, growing chives brings higher income than growing corn, potatoes and millet," a villager from Dongwang Village told the author.
"Next, we plan to build 30 spring and autumn sheds and grow two varieties, black thousand-root chives and German divided chives. These chives are mainly planted in spring and autumn. This season is exactly when poor households have finished harvesting their crops and have nothing to do, and these chives can be produced and marketed. The growth period is 70 days, and the first cutting can be harvested before the freeze. In addition, we also plan to add 200 mu, absorb more than 100 poor households, and set up a point in our village. Next year, we will also bring in surrounding villages to escape poverty and become rich together," Qin Tangui said about the next development plan at the end of the interview.