Aksu's young fruit grower walks a path to prosperity
On April 20, 2016, the Aksu stop of the China Agricultural Products Circulation Quality Ten Thousand Li Journey kicked off. Gao Bohai, Secretary-General of the China Quality Ten Thousand Li Journey Promotion Association, Li Qiusheng, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of the Fifth Regiment of the First Division of the **Production and Construction Corps, and Liu Bing, Standing Committee Member and Deputy Commander of the Fifth Regiment of the First Division of the **Production and Construction Corps, and other leaders attended the meeting. At the meeting, among a group of leaders, an unassuming young fruit grower caught everyone's attention, and a story of prosperity right at hand sparked a heated response.
On April 20, 2016, the Aksu stop of the China Agricultural Products Circulation Quality Ten Thousand Li Journey kicked off. Gao Bohai, Secretary-General of the China Quality Ten Thousand Li Journey Promotion Association, Li Qiusheng, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of the Fifth Regiment of the First Division of the **Production and Construction Corps, and Liu Bing, Standing Committee Member and Deputy Commander of the Fifth Regiment of the First Division of the **Production and Construction Corps, and other leaders attended the meeting. At the meeting, among a group of leaders, an unassuming young fruit grower caught everyone's attention, and a story of prosperity right at hand sparked a heated response.
Chen's family apple orchard is not particularly large; its 16 mu area is quite ordinary, but there is much knowledge in planting and care. The young man said the old ways of planting are outdated, and prioritizing yield or the like should just be forgotten. Today's consumers would rather spend a bit more money to eat good-quality fruit than save a few yuan to eat poor-quality fruit. "So my orchard is managed entirely according to green and organic orchard standards, using farmyard manure together with special fertilizer for fruit trees, and relying mainly on physical methods for pest and disease control. Only Aksu apples grown this way are more fragrant, sweeter, and safer, and only they represent good Chinese quality and meet the standards of origin-produced agricultural products."
Chen Long said that two years earlier, when he was growing apples, he also encountered quite a few problems. Low yields and thin profits once made him think about going out to work, but a chance experience made him realize that what he was growing could be called nothing less than golden apples. In early 2014, when Chen Long was most troubled, at a gathering of friends he met Wang Dongqing, general manager of the newly established Huamengtong Aksu company. After learning of Chen Long's troubles, Wang specially took people to visit his orchard, then brought in professional technicians and secured his first order. Wang told Chen Long that his orchard had a good foundation, and as long as he put in the effort, there would certainly be no shortage of good apples; as long as the apple quality was good enough, Huamengtong dared to place orders first. Plant well, and Huamengtong would take all the apples Chen Long grew. By the end of that year, with the help of professional technicians, the output of Chen Long's 16-mu orchard rose from 19 tonnes to 22.3 tonnes, and the apple purchase price also changed from 4.2 yuan/kg in 2013 to 6 yuan/kg, a full increase of half! Chen Long's income also went from 80,000 a year to 134,000, leaping in one step into the ranks of the tall, handsome, and rich. In 2015, Chen Long kept up his efforts and continued his cooperation with Huamengtong. Output rose to 25.6 tonnes, the purchase price remained at 5.8 yuan/kg, and income broke through 150,000, accounting for more than 90% of the family's total income, impossible to hold back. "Most importantly, the output came up and the quality got even better. The power of technology is still great," Chen Long said.
When asked whether he had other experience with becoming prosperous, Chen Long thought for a moment and told the reporter, "Energy is the key." He said that before 2014, starting every September, fruit growers no longer had the energy to attend to later-stage orchard management. During that period, everyone was busy contacting relatives and friends everywhere to find channels for selling apples. After much difficulty finding some wholesale market dealers, prices were never guaranteed. Many vendors did not sign purchase contracts with fruit growers, and it was common during the sales process to temporarily lower prices or even directly cancel orders. There were also times when income fell below cost. "Fortunately, I got to know Huamengtong, which keeps its word and values contracts, so we fruit growers don't need to put any energy into sales problems at all, and it also solved difficulties encountered in apple transport and storage. It truly benefits the people and brings farmers together."
At the end of the interview, Chen Long said frankly that seeing Huamengtong become a helper of the China Agricultural Products Circulation Quality Ten Thousand Li Journey was already enough to make local fruit growers happy. Who would have thought they would also hear that Huamengtong would join with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation to establish a science and technology benefit-farmers fund specifically for farmers, invite industry experts to guide planting techniques, and help farmers improve their technical level in agricultural materials and tools? That made them even happier beyond measure. "After all, this is the problem we fruit growers most hoped to solve after cooperating with the company," Chen Long said.