In Zhongwei, Ningxia, small edamame beans become golden beans that boost farmers' incomes

For the past several days, the edamame planting bases of the Tianrui Hongqiao Cooperative under Ningxia Tianrui Industrial Group have been bustling with activity, and the joy of harvest has filled farmers' faces with smiles. This year, the Tianrui Hongqiao Cooperative signed edamame planting agreements with surrounding farmers for a total of 3,500 mu. Judging from this year's output, an average of 850 kg of edamame pods can be harvested per mu, with an output value of 2,500 yuan per mu. Because Tianrui "guarantees" it, these tiny edamame beans have now become the "golden beans" that help farmers increase their incomes and become better off.

In the large edamame fields of Fengzhuang Village, Rouyuan Town, Shapotou District, growers Ren Tianqiang and Huang Cunyin looked at the abundant edamame harvest, their faces beaming. Ren Tianqiang told reporters that these 180 mu of edamame were planted by him and Huang Cunyin working together, having transferred farmers' land for the purpose. Last year, the two cooperated to plant 180 mu of corn, but not only did they fail to make money, they also lost quite a bit. Hearing that cooperating with Tianrui Company to grow edamame was quite profitable, they took a try-it-and-see attitude and planted all their land with edamame this year.

"Judging from this year's planting situation, the benefits are still very good, because the cost is low and the economic returns are much better than corn." Ren Tianqiang said that all the edamame planting techniques came from Tianrui Company, and on-site guidance was entirely free.

It is understood that this year, the Tianrui Hongqiao Cooperative established a "company + cooperative + farmer" model. Farmers signed contracts before planting, and the company provided technology, seeds and fertilizer. Even if the market price is 1 yuan per kg, the company will purchase at 3 yuan per kg to guarantee growers' returns.

Huang Xingli, chairman of the Tianrui Hongqiao Cooperative, told reporters: "Since 2016, we have driven large growers and large distributors to grow raw materials for us in the form of orders. The price was set at the beginning of the year. During the planting process, how to plant and how to manage, and in a whole series of processes such as pesticide use, fertilization and irrigation, all are guided by our technicians. Judging from the growth of the edamame, this year is a bumper year, and the growers' returns are very high."

"Last year, the price of corn was about 1.8 yuan per kg. Even calculating at 2 yuan per kg, with 1,000 kg of corn produced per mu, the farmer's income per mu would be 2,000 yuan. But growing edamame can bring in 2,500 yuan per mu, and the cost of growing edamame is much lower than that of corn. After yield measurement, this year's yield per mu reached 850 kg, and the unit price is 3 yuan per kg. Calculated this way, the income per mu is more than 2,500 yuan. After the edamame is harvested, spinach is planted in succession, and each mu of land yields another three to four hundred yuan in net income, much higher than corn income." Huang Xingli used corn as an example to calculate an account for reporters.

While the cooperative and large growers gained returns, planting edamame also brought substantial returns to villagers in several nearby villages. It is understood that at present, more than 200 farmers are picking edamame at Ren Tianqiang's edamame base, most of them women and middle-aged and elderly people who have stayed at home, and some children who use the summer vacation to do part-time work and study, lessening their families' economic burden.