Growing scallions in Yunnan helps Gaoyao vegetable farmers get rich

In the early morning, as the first ray of sunlight falls on the scallion fields of Hongta District, Yuxi, Yunnan Province, the thin mist clinging to each small fragrant scallion gradually dissipates, and as the breeze passes, the newly grown scallion seedlings give off waves of fresh fragrance. Early on the morning of May 20, Lan Yongping, a Gaoyao native who came to Hongta District to contract land for growing scallions, welcomed yet another harvest of small fragrant scallions. As usual, he and the workers he had hired bent down in the scallion field, busy and skilled, pulling up each mature small fragrant scallion. By then, several small trucks had already lined up beside the field to collect the scallions. After these small trucks were filled with fragrant scallions, the scallions were transferred to large refrigerated trucks and then shipped to vegetable markets across the country for wholesale sale.

In Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, more than a thousand li away, over the past ten years, batch after batch of vegetable farmers from Gaoyao have gone there to contract land and grow scallions. They endure hardship without complaint, working from early morning to late at night every day, and have enabled small fragrant scallion cultivation to carve out a path to prosperity in a distant place. Recently, a reporter interviewed some Gaoyao vegetable farmers who went to Yunnan to contract land and grow scallions, to learn about their entrepreneurial dream of growing vegetables in a distant place.

An excellent environment attracts large numbers of Gaoyao vegetable farmers to grow scallions in a distant place

Yuxi City is located in central Yunnan Province, with high terrain in the northwest and basins and plateaus alternating in distribution. Because of its high grain yields and excellent-quality tobacco leaves, Yuxi City enjoys the reputation of "Granary of Central Yunnan" and "Home of Yunnan Tobacco." Because of Yuxi's unique topography and landforms, a fairly distinct three-dimensional climate has formed, with a mild and humid climate year-round, no severe cold in winter and no extreme heat in summer, and an average annual temperature of 20.5°C, which is very suitable for vegetable growth.

Lan Yongping, from Yaogang Village, Jindu Town, Gaoyao, was one of the earliest vegetable farmers to go to Yuxi City to "try out" contracting land to grow scallions. He told the reporter that because in the past it was very difficult to contract contiguous parcels of land for vegetable cultivation in Zhaoqing itself, as early as the 1990s many Gaoyao vegetable farmers went far away to places such as Shenzhen to contract land and develop large-scale vegetable cultivation. About ten years ago, when he went to Yuxi City, Yunnan, as a vegetable-growing technician to inspect and provide guidance, he found that the local excellent climate and natural conditions, plus the advantage of low land rent, were very suitable for developing large-scale vegetable cultivation, and especially suitable for growing scallions. "The suitable temperature for the leaf growth of small fragrant scallions is 10-25°C, and they can adapt to relatively high light intensity. Yuxi not only has a good climate and long sunshine hours, but also deep soil rich in organic matter, which is very suitable for the growth of small fragrant scallions."

Starting in 2008, Lan Yongping began developing the cultivation of small fragrant scallions, using the Guangdong red scallion variety, with a planting area of 55 mu. Through days and nights of hard work, the small fragrant scallions grown by Lan Yongping finally gained market recognition. The price of Yuxi small fragrant scallions rose gradually from an initial purchase price of four jiao per kilogram to more than 2.5 yuan per kilogram, and they were often in short supply. Last year, the local Yuxi small fragrant scallions rose to 8 yuan per kilogram, and the economic benefits of growing small fragrant scallions became increasingly significant.

The good news about contracting land in a distant place to grow scallions quickly spread among Gaoyao vegetable farmers. In recent years, several hundred farming households from communities such as Yaogang, Gengsha, Shuibian and Dakeng in Jindu Town, Gaoyao, have also gone to Yuxi City to rent land and grow fragrant scallions. In 2013, Lan Yongping also established the Huayao Vegetable Production and Marketing Cooperative in Yuxi City to help more fellow townspeople who went to Yunnan develop the cultivation of small fragrant scallions. It is understood that at present those going to Yuxi, Yunnan to grow small fragrant scallions are mainly vegetable farmers from communities such as Yaogang, Gengsha and Dakeng in Jindu Town, Gaoyao, numbering nearly 2,000 people, with a planting area of nearly 20,000 mu and an annual output value exceeding 600 million yuan.

Small fragrant scallions energize the entire industrial chain

Yuxi's excellent climatic conditions enable the fragrant scallions planted by Gaoyao vegetable farmers to have higher yields than in other places. One mature fragrant scallion can be divided into eight scallion seedlings for planting, and there is no need to recultivate fragrant scallions. In one mu of land, up to five batches of fragrant scallions can be produced in a year, with a yield reaching 2 to 3 tons. Moreover, the traditionally superb vegetable-growing skills of Gaoyao vegetable farmers also give the scallions they grow a quality advantage.

"The scallions we grow have the thinnest and greenest leaves, and the reddest bulbs, and the scallion flavor is more fragrant, making them especially popular in the market." Mai Guohua, a Gaoyao native who also went to Yuxi to grow scallions, told the reporter that from the scallion fields they contracted, 300 to 400 tons of fragrant scallions are sold to all parts of the country every day. Because of the large planting volume, he hired more than 200 local villagers to pick fragrant scallions, indirectly driving local villagers' employment and income growth. "Workers are paid according to the amount they pick. In a day, each person's average income is more than 100 yuan."

The large-scale cultivation of fragrant scallions has not only solved the employment problem of farmers in surrounding areas, but also given rise to the development of other industries. At present, Hongta District has 2 ice factories serving the refrigerated transport of fragrant scallions and 8 washing and processing plants, while also driving the development of services such as catering. The tiny fragrant scallion has quietly energized a local industrial chain integrating "cultivation, procurement, processing and logistics."

Today, the small fragrant scallions grown by Gaoyao vegetable farmers in Yuxi have become somewhat famous. However, as with other Gaoyao vegetable farmers who came to Yuxi to grow scallions, Lan Yongping believes that although the current fragrant scallion market looks promising, risks still exist, and there is still a long way to go to truly make the small fragrant scallion industry bigger and better. "Next, I hope to use the cooperative to organize more scallion farmers, implement standardized cultivation, and register our own small fragrant scallion trademark, so as to further expand the influence of Yuxi small fragrant scallions through the model of company + base + farmers + technology. Let more places across the country taste and fall in love with the small fragrant scallions grown by us Gaoyao vegetable farmers."