Small chili pepper cultivation lifts villagers' dream of prosperity
In May, the early summer sun shines over the land, and on the vast fertile farmland of Huaiji County, rows of ripe chili peppers await harvesting. Recently, a reporter visited the chili pepper demonstration base of Liang Yuxing, an agricultural science and technology demonstration household in Yonghong Village, Liangcun Town, Huaiji County, and saw a scene of busy activity.
Liang Yuxing grows a new variety of line pepper - Line Pepper No. 8. Standing beside the field, as far as the eye can see, there are pepper plants growing well everywhere, each hung with plump and slender peppers that gleam fresh and vibrant under the sunlight. Several farmers were in the field picking peppers, creating a lively scene.
According to Liang Yuxing, at the end of 2015, under the guidance of the relevant agricultural technology departments at the county and town levels, he took a optimistic view of the prospects for chili peppers and immediately rented more than 60 mu of land to begin growing them. In early May this year, the chili pepper harvest season arrived. "This is already the second harvest of chili peppers; a batch was already harvested during the May Day holiday," Liang Yuxing said. The first batch alone yielded more than 5,000 kg of chili peppers, and this batch currently being picked is conservatively estimated at more than 15,000 kg.
What is the current market price of chili peppers? Are the sales prospects ideal? In response, Liang Yuxing told the reporter that the Fuxi market, a large agricultural wholesale market in Foshan where the chili peppers are purchased, currently buys chili peppers at 5.2 yuan/kg, and the transportation cost to ship them to the agricultural wholesale market is 0.2 yuan per kg. Calculated this way, selling these two batches of chili peppers can bring in more than 100,000 yuan. "The land rent, agricultural inputs and hired labor costs already invested now average 2,000 yuan per mu, for a total investment of 120,000 yuan. After these two batches of chili peppers are sold, the costs can almost be recovered, and the chili peppers harvested afterward will be almost all profit once sold!" he said happily.
What made Liang Yuxing even more confident is that, according to agricultural experts, this variety of chili pepper will enter its peak production period in July, and over the entire harvest season more than 3,000 kg of chili peppers can be harvested per mu. Calculated at the current purchase price of 5.2 yuan/kg, income per mu can exceed 15,000 yuan; more than 60 mu can yield more than 180,000 kg of chili peppers, with income reaching more than 900,000 yuan.
Zou Xiasheng, director of the county's Agricultural Technology Extension Center, explained to the reporter the reason for the high returns from growing chili peppers. "The main reason is catching the gap period when chili peppers are on the market." Zou Xiasheng analyzed that last winter was relatively cold, causing most chili pepper seedlings to be damaged by frost, and the seedlings only resumed normal growth in early March this year. This year, the chili peppers at this base only reached harvest standard in early May. Precisely because the harvest period was delayed, it caught the gap period in May when northern chili peppers had not yet come onto the market in large quantities and the harvest period for chili peppers in other southern areas was basically over. "In addition, chili peppers are not a fresh vegetable that keeps well, so the market price is relatively high."
"At present, the wholesale price of chili peppers at the Foshan Fuxi market is at least 5.2 yuan per kg. On the retail market, chili peppers of the same quality are already selling for 20 yuan/kg, which greatly increases the economic benefit per unit area." Zou Xiasheng said the prospects for growing chili peppers are considerable. At the same time, chili pepper cultivation is a labor-intensive industry and requires hiring rural women from nearby areas. During the harvest period, more than 20 people need to be hired each day, while for routine tasks such as fertilizing and applying pesticides, 5-6 laborers are hired. This not only drives employment for rural women nearby, but also increases their economic income.
Villager Sister Li, who was nearby packing chili peppers, said happily: "The planting base grows so many chili peppers, allowing us to work and earn income right at our doorstep. I am very grateful."