Tiny broomcorn millet propels a big industry for prosperity
Starting from May 6, the Ministry of Agriculture's "Hundred Townships, Ten Thousand Households" investigation team went deep into the land of Inner Mongolia and began a three-week frontline study. The team visited villages, called on herding households, explored enterprises and asked about people's livelihoods, traveling nearly 4,000 km. They conducted detailed visits in Chifeng, Hohhot, Hulunbuir and other league cities, carrying out a comprehensive and meticulous investigation and understanding of local agricultural and livestock industry structural adjustment and the actual situation of reform pilot areas, and put forward scientific and reasonable guidance.
In the workshop of a processing enterprise in an industrial park in Shisan Aobao Town, Bairin Left Banner, Chifeng City, workers were skillfully bundling brooms of various sizes and shapes, and the investigation team carefully toured the entire production process. Because the food value of broomcorn is minimal, whether large-scale planting of this crop could genuinely raise farmers' incomes became a key focus of the investigation team. Workshop worker Yu Guizhen did the math for everyone: her family has 30 mu of farmland, and because yields were limited, when they used to grow corn, the net income per mu was only about 400 yuan. But by growing broomcorn, they can sell the broomcorn seedlings directly to the park, and the net income from 30 mu has doubled; at the same time, she works on the enterprise's production line and can earn more than 40,000 yuan a year. “You have to farm and also work, won't you lack labor?” the investigation team asked Yu Guizhen. “Of course not. My husband can take care of the fields, and I work at the enterprise for only 8 hours a day, without holding anything back!”
Shisan Aobao Town has a long history of growing broomcorn, but for a long time the scattered and individualistic production and operation model did not allow this industry to achieve much development. Since entering the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, the local government has actively adjusted its thinking, integrated resources, and formed large-scale production and sales according to market demand, uniting the original 5 broom production workshops to form today's Dong'ao Cleaning Products Co., Ltd. In addition, the brooms of Bairin Left Banner are not only practical but can also be made into exquisite handicrafts. In the park's exhibition hall, the investigation team saw that broomcorn handicrafts of various shapes and exquisite craftsmanship attracted visitors' attention, and broomcorn handicrafts have gradually developed as cutting-edge products in the industry chain. At present, Bairin Left Banner's annual broom production capacity has reached 35 million, making it a truly emerging industry and prosperity industry locally.
The investigation team was very interested in the banner's structural adjustment and the new industrialization creation of large-scale broomcorn planting. The investigation team believes that structural adjustment must focus on the market and on the long term, and that the pace of development must conform to reality rather than rush ahead. Only with broad development space can stable development be achieved, and it must never be done in a rush all at once. The investigation team said it would help Bairin Left Banner conduct relevant market research, position the market further ahead, and move toward the international market.
Zhang Jingyang, our reporter Zhang Wusi