High-mountain vegetables help boost farmers' incomes in Qingyuan, Zhejiang
For days, farmers in Hedi Town, Qingyuan County, Zhejiang Province have been busy working in the fields, and 2,600 mu of high-mountain water bamboo will ripen and go on the market in July……
High-mountain vegetables, because they are grown at high altitude, free of industrial pollution, and exposed to large day-night temperature differences, have become green ecological food rich in carbohydrates and vitamins, pollution-free, healthy and safe, and good in taste. "Hedi Town has an average altitude of more than 1,000 m, making it suitable for growing high-mountain vegetables; this is now the critical period for raising seedlings, and the villagers have all been busy at work." Wu Chunshan, head of the Chunlv Professional Cooperative in Hedi Town, is not only a local water bamboo expert and a major industry player, but also the first local grower to taste the sweet rewards of high-mountain vegetables.
Looking back on more than 9 years of water bamboo cultivation experience, Wu Chunshan was filled with emotion: because the area is remote and the forms of industry are limited, villagers who stay behind can only engage in simple agricultural production at home. How to make the villagers rich became a heavy concern for the local town Party committee and agricultural departments.
"More than 60,000 mu of high-mountain land resources provide a high-quality foundation for the counter-seasonal nature of crop growth periods and market supply." Hong Baoru, director of the Qingyuan County Agriculture Bureau, said that while seeking industries to boost farmers' incomes, they actively adjusted the agricultural industrial structure, striving to turn regional disadvantages into advantages, and high-mountain counter-seasonal vegetables became a focus of agricultural industry development.
At present, the more than 2,600 mu high-mountain water bamboo planting base in Hedi Town produces more than 7 million jin of water bamboo each year, and is gradually developing toward base-oriented, intensive and large-scale agriculture. High-mountain vegetables have become a pillar industry that benefits and enriches local farmers, absorbing more than 1,000 surplus laborers from surrounding areas, with per capita monthly income increasing by more than 2,000 yuan.
"As soon as the vegetables ripened, buyers came asking for goods. From cauliflower alone, there is an income of more than 20,000 yuan each year." Wu Jinbao, a grower from Sidan Daihou Village in Songyuan Subdistrict, could hardly hide his joy. In Bandaihou Village, nearly 50 households grow high-mountain vegetables, and the villagers' per capita annual income has reached more than 8,000 yuan.
Growing high-mountain water bamboo in Hedi Town to boost farmers' incomes is a microcosm of the high-mountain vegetable planting industry. In recent years, Qingyuan County has fully implemented a vegetable industry upgrading project, promoting the application of advanced and applicable technologies in accordance with the requirements of standardized production, large-scale bases and branded operations, expanding planting areas and raising the level of the industry.
At the same time, Qingyuan County has focused on building a high-mountain vegetable brand, using professional cooperative organizations as the carrier, optimizing the variety structure, implementing the "base + professional cooperative + farmers" business model, expanding cooperation between leading enterprises and farmers, and forming a high-mountain vegetable industry chain mainly based on water bamboo and loose-curd cauliflower, supplemented by varieties such as radish and small chili peppers.
"The 3 cold storage rooms that can hold 30 tons of vegetables now have reliable power support, the harvested vegetables can be kept fresh in time, and the vegetable farmers' wallets have grown." The person in charge of the Hedi Town high-mountain vegetable trading base said happily. To ensure that water bamboo and other high-mountain vegetables receive timely fresh-keeping treatment, the Qingyuan County Power Supply Company has listed the base as a key service target, conducting comprehensive inspections of line equipment, promptly eliminating hidden dangers when found, and opening a "green channel" throughout the process to ensure that every piece of equipment at the high-mountain vegetable trading base can "enjoy" safe and reliable protection.
"Give full play to the high-mountain ecological advantages, dig deep into industrial characteristics, vigorously implement the agricultural brand strategy, promote the transformation and upgrading of ecological agriculture, and gradually build a diversified agricultural industry development system integrating production, supply and marketing, so as to drive local farmers' income growth while promoting the rise of the local green industry economy." Hong Baoru said.