Jiamusi's small red berry industry yields big benefits
The suburbs of Jiamusi City in Heilongjiang Province seized the opportunity presented by the "adjust structure, transform mode" initiative, making red raspberries the main industry for structural adjustment and promoting large-scale agricultural production. The magical "small red berries" have continued to move toward industrialized development, allowing farmers to enjoy the fruits of prosperity through "adjustment." In October 2015, Lianjiangkou Town in the suburbs of Jiamusi was rated as a red raspberry export base in Heilongjiang Province; as early as 2013, it was awarded the title of "China's No. 1 Red Raspberry Town" by the Agricultural Extension Center of the China Science and Technology Innovation and Development Work Committee. How did they originally embark on the path to prosperity through red raspberries? The author found the answer while interviewing in Lianjiangkou Town.
Starting in 2012, Lianjiangkou Town in the suburbs established a cooperative partnership with Heilongjiang Agricultural Vocational and Technical College. Through organizing study tours, they learned that red raspberries are known worldwide as the "golden fruit." They are not only a delicious fruit but also have wide applications in medicine, cosmetics, health care and food processing. They introduced and successfully cultivated red raspberries.
It is understood that the red raspberry production cycle is 20 years. The initial investment in seedlings and facilities is a one-time investment, and the investment cost is not high. After reaching full production, each mu can yield 2000 jin of fresh fruit. Calculated at the minimum protective purchase price of 4 yuan per jin, the output value per mu can reach 8000 yuan. After deducting labor and daily management costs, the net profit per mu can reach 5000 yuan, which is 4000 yuan higher per mu than growing corn. At present, Lianjiangkou Town has 3 planting professional cooperatives, with a planting area of nearly 2000 mu.
The key to the rapid and healthy development of health beverages is large-scale production, scientific research and development, and personalized products. At present, the registered "Beiguo Dongji" red raspberries have been exported to Europe and Russia, and have participated multiple times in green fruit and vegetable exhibitions in Heilongjiang Province and Beijing, receiving favorable reviews. The planting demonstration base in Changsheng Village has also been rated as a provincial-level green fruit and vegetable export base. The orchard operated by the Xinjinguo Raspberry and Vegetable Professional Cooperative has obtained a registration certificate for outbound fruit orchards. "There are currently 8 member households, with a total of 110 mu of red raspberries. Professional technical personnel provide follow-up guidance to protect farmers, and with the steady development of contract farming, the farmers are full of drive. After seeing the benefits, many farmers are eager to join," said Wang Caihong, chairman of the cooperative.
Zhang Mingqing, 72 years old, is already in his fifth year of growing red raspberries. He happily told the author: "1 mu of summer fruit, 6 mu of autumn fruit. The summer fruit can be harvested on the 13th. Last year the trees got sick and one-third died, but our berries are large, and not only did the yield not decrease, it actually increased. Each mu yields over 4000 jin, at 4 yuan per jin. The profit per mu reached 8000 yuan. This year's harvest is even better than last year's!" "Growing corn used to make money slowly. Seeing how profitable these small red berries are, I gave it a try. I didn't expect that the more I planted, the more motivated I became. This year's berries are large and thick. I plan to continue expanding the planting area!" Cao Yaguo looked at his more than 40 mu of land with great anticipation.
Ma Xiaodan, deputy mayor of Lianjiangkou Town, told the author that the whole town focuses on red raspberries, with a total planting area of 2100 mu. During the fruit-picking period, the demand for labor is especially high. This year the scale has taken shape, and the pace of development has steadily increased, driving local laborers to shared prosperity. One fruit-picking season can mobilize over 4000 person-times of labor and increase income by 11.2 million yuan. The district's subsidy policy has brought good news to farmers: a subsidy of 1000 yuan per mu for planting red raspberries, and there are 5 cold storage facilities of 1000 sq m each, with a subsidy of 1000 yuan per sq m, amounting to 1.5 million yuan per cold storage. At the same time, experts from Heilongjiang Agricultural Vocational and Technical College have been invited to provide professional training to farmers, stimulating their enthusiasm, and public acceptance is gradually increasing. The next step is to intensify efforts to attract investment, introduce deep-processing enterprises, and with higher added value, drive more laborers to prosper together.
Up to now, the red raspberry planting area in the suburbs has reached nearly 10,000 mu, and during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the planned planting area will expand to 50,000 mu.
Excerpted from "Heilongjiang Daily"