When the golden flowers bloom, they attract wealth from all directions
Camellia nitidissima, known as the "Queen of the tea family," is very difficult to cultivate artificially. However, Peng Mingfa of Tunping Village, Yingxiong Village Committee, Dazhi Town, Qinbei District, resolutely devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating and planting Camellia nitidissima at the age of sixty, letting beautiful Camellia nitidissima flowers bloom all over the hillside. On his entrepreneurial path he persevered unremittingly and ultimately created considerable wealth, while also actively leading villagers to walk the road to prosperity together.
Aiming at the market and starting a business
On November 7, the reporter saw at the Camellia nitidissima seedling base in Tunping Village, Yingxiong Village Committee, Dazhi Town, that a large stretch of verdant Camellia nitidissima formed a distinctive rural scene. The person who planted this thriving Camellia nitidissima was none other than the already 64-year-old Peng Mingfa.
At this age he should be enjoying having children and grandchildren around him, so why still establish the Tunping Village Camellia nitidissima seedling base? "Although I have retired, I am still young and still have the strength to work," Peng Mingfa said. It turned out that in 2002, after retiring from his work unit, Peng Mingfa did not "settle down" but instead went into the mineral products business.
"Previously, a friend of mine was in the Camellia nitidissima seedling business. The price of Camellia nitidissima kept selling higher and higher. For rural areas, no matter which cash crop is planted, its value is far lower than that of Camellia nitidissima," Peng Mingfa told the reporter. During that period, he learned about the Camellia nitidissima market conditions in Fangchenggang. He found that dried flowers stored for four years were extremely expensive, unexpectedly rising to about 12,000 yuan per jin, while fresh flowers were no less than 700 yuan per jin, a very considerable price.
Bold experimentation welcomes a bountiful harvest
Peng Mingfa learned that planting Camellia nitidissima requires acidic soil. After experts investigated, they found that the Fangchenggang and Qinzhou areas both have acidic soil, and the climate is also suitable for planting Camellia nitidissima. Just as the business turned sluggish in 2010, Peng Mingfa had accumulated a certain amount of capital and resolutely decided to devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivating and planting Camellia nitidissima. After learning relevant techniques in Fangchenggang, he returned to his hometown and raised funds on his own to establish the Tunping Village Camellia nitidissima seedling base, introduced Camellia nitidissima from Fangchenggang, and converted nearly 100 mu of lychee orchards owned by himself and his brothers into Camellia nitidissima.
In 2011, he began experimental seedling cultivation and invested 500,000 yuan. Because techniques, experience and other aspects could not keep up, the survival rate was only about 15% to 20%. The first experimental failure did not defeat Peng Mingfa; the more setbacks he suffered, the braver he became, and the next year he continued raising seedlings. Hard work pays off, and his experiment succeeded. A farm merchant from Hainan ordered 60,000 seedlings from him in one go and paid a deposit of 300,000 yuan, which further strengthened his confidence in planting Camellia nitidissima. At present, the survival rate of his seedlings has reached more than 80% to 90%. "Don't underestimate this medium-sized seedling. Next year it can produce 10 jin of fresh flowers. Calculated at 200 yuan per jin, that is still 2,000 yuan in income, which is already quite good," Peng Mingfa said confidently, pointing to a Camellia nitidissima more than one meter tall.
Helping villagers escape poverty and become prosperous
Peng Mingfa's base currently has 5,500 large seedlings, about 15,000 medium seedlings, and about 100,000 small seedlings, with a planting area of 120 mu and an investment of more than 6 million yuan. Peng Mingfa also plans to continue expanding the planting of Camellia nitidissima by 100 mu this winter and next spring. Peng Mingfa said they began trial production of 1,000 jin of fresh flowers this year. According to the guaranteed minimum price given by the purchasing company, it is no less than two to three hundred thousand yuan per year. Judging from the current growth conditions of Camellia nitidissima, it is expected that next year's flower output will exceed more than ten thousand jin.
Peng Mingfa also adopted a "company + base + farmers" model. At present, it has already led 4 households of villagers (poor households) in the village to participate in planting Camellia nitidissima. The company provides farmers with seedlings, fertilizer, technology, land leveling, buyback and so on. Farmers only need to provide land and labor for care, and the farmers manage it and pick the flowers, with the "dividends" distributed 50-50 according to total output. Next, they will continue to develop 25-30 households of villagers to jointly plant Camellia nitidissima.
It is reported that under the radiating and leading influence of the base, it has driven the surrounding villagers (poor households) into an upsurge of planting and breeding. Agricultural production has achieved very good economic benefits, and at the same time it has also broken Tunping Village's planting pattern. Tunping Village has taken a key step toward modern agriculture.