The logic of farmers getting richer behind the "Banana Twins"
Everyone who earnestly starts a business deserves to be taken seriously. In Tianyang County, Baise City, Guangxi, there are two young men named Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo, who rose to fame for building Baise's largest banana standardized production technology demonstration park. Many banana farmers have benefited from this, and the people affectionately call them the "Banana Twins."
What kind of prosperity logic lies behind the "Banana Twins"? Recently, a reporter visited the banana standardized production technology demonstration park in Baigan Village, Naman Town, Tianyang County. The most profound impression the visit left on the reporter was that, in the broader context of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation," although the "Banana Twins" are still somewhat inexperienced, their resounding steps provide a real reference for putting the concept of industry-driven prosperity into practice.
Rational career choice
"It doesn't matter when you start; what matters is that once you start, you don't stop. Because what matters in life is not the position you stand in, but the direction you face." The "Banana Twins" said firmly.
Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo were born in 1979 and 1980 respectively in a small mountain village in Tiandong County, Baise City. From childhood onward, they were as close as brothers. After graduating from high school, the two brothers each went their own way. Huang Feixiao went to Beijing to study business administration, while Zeng Bo studied fruit tree cultivation in Guangxi.
In 2001, Huang Feixiao returned home to start a business. He successively worked as a small shop owner in daily consumer goods retail and wholesale, and as a salesperson at an agricultural materials sales company, all of which ended in failure. Afterward, with his father's help, Huang Feixiao took a job at Guangxi Darenmen Banana Planting Company.
Coincidentally, Huang Feixiao ran into Zeng Bo unexpectedly at Darenmen Banana Company. Compared with Huang Feixiao, Zeng Bo's employment was relatively smooth: after graduating in 2001, he was directly hired by Darenmen Banana Company.
At Darenmen Banana Company, the two brothers helped each other and advanced together. Because of their outstanding performance, the company gave them a substantial reward, and that was how they earned their "first bucket of gold." At the same time, through several years of hard work, they accumulated rich experience in banana cultivation.
In 2006, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo began to start their own business. They invested more than 500,000 yuan and returned to their hometown to transfer 100 mu of banana land, preparing to scientifically grow high-quality bananas. To save expenses, they did everything themselves. However, due to natural disasters, the 100 mu of bananas actually lost 150,000 yuan in the first year. The setback did not stop their determined pace. In the second year, they broke even. After that, profits gradually increased, and banana farmers were also very active.
Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo were not satisfied with this. In order to help more banana farmers become rich, they set their sights on Tianyang. Tianyang is located in western Guangxi, with superior conditions such as temperature, sunlight and soil, and is one of the few high-quality banana growing areas in the country. After many rounds of consultation, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo transferred 2,900 mu of land in Baigan Village in 2014, with the goal of building it into Baise's largest banana standardized production technology demonstration park.
Hands-on hard work
However, how easy was it to achieve this goal? Before the land transfer, that plot in Baigan Village was "unimpressive," a slightly acidic dryland area that was uneven and overgrown with weeds and shrubs. After the transfer, the first thing Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo did was level and deep-plow the land, making it a modern demonstration park suitable for large-scale mechanized farming.
In order to build the banana demonstration park to high standards, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo attended to everything personally and rolled out a high-value "combination punch": renovating diversion canals, drilling deep water wells, installing transformer equipment, and building an integrated water and fertilizer water-saving irrigation system. This system has the effects of saving water, improving fertilizer absorption rates and reducing input costs.
They implemented soil testing and formulated fertilization. The park adopted advanced fertilization methods, effectively improving the slightly acidic soil and creating a superior environment for banana growth.
They implemented fruit bagging technology. Each bunch of bananas was required to be padded with high-quality special paper and covered with a shaping bag, which can make the banana fruit shape attractive. A cold-proof bag was added to prevent rain, prevent insects and protect the fruit bunch from external damage.
They standardized road hardening. The demonstration park had no roads, and machinery and vehicles could not operate normally. Therefore, the demonstration park opened two kinds of roads: main roads 6 m wide, one every 400 mu; and branch roads 4 m wide, one every 100 m.
They held 3 sessions of technical training for banana farmers. The first session covered the park's opening and construction, and the construction, use and operation of various infrastructure facilities; the second session covered the care of banana seedlings and the use of water and fertilizer; the third session covered scientific management such as the technical essentials of flower preservation, fruit protection and bagging during the fruiting period.
A person who advances single-mindedly toward a goal will have the whole world make way for him. More than a year later, the standardized office, large warehouse, water storage tank, integrated water and fertilizer irrigation facilities and so on were dotted like gems throughout the banana demonstration park, radiating vigorous vitality.
Heaven does not let down the diligent. Zeng Bo introduced that this year the Baigan banana demonstration park had initially begun production. Banana output was stable and quality excellent, with an average annual yield of 4,000 kg per mu, a total output of 11.6 million kg, an output value of nearly 40 million yuan, a commodity rate of more than 98%, and a high-quality fruit rate of 95%. At the same time, in addition to solving employment for surplus labor, the construction of the banana demonstration park also drove more than 10,000 mu of bananas into standardized production, effectively promoting banana farmers' income growth and prosperity.
"As long as the folks in the village can get rich, we've made a profit," Huang Feixiao said. "After the banana demonstration park is fully completed, it will radiate to 8 surrounding townships and involve more than 20,000 farming households. Building the Baigan banana demonstration park will be of great significance whether for raising orchard per-unit yield, fruit quality and safety levels, or for improving Baise's comprehensive banana production and industrial competitiveness."
Clearly seeing the future
How can good bananas be sold at a good price? To find the answer, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo took great pains. Fortunately, they caught the "Baise No. 1" special train, and some bananas sold at a good price. The opening of the "Baise No. 1" special train was intended to strengthen communication and linkage between Baise agricultural product production and transportation and Beijing's terminal sales market, and to work together to push Baise and Guangxi specialty agricultural products into the national market.
"It is indeed good that the Baise Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government opened the 'Baise No. 1' special train, and the effect of enriching farmers and increasing income has begun to appear. Taking Baise mango as an example, the average purchase price in 2013 was 5 yuan per kg, and in 2015 it reached 12 yuan, an average annual increase of 70%." Huang Feixiao said. "As the advantages of the 'Baise No. 1' special train in stable transport capacity, high transport quality and large transport volume are further brought into play, smoothing the storage and distribution channels at the terminals in Beijing and surrounding areas becomes even more important."
While focusing on traditional marketing channels, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo also worked to improve supporting facilities such as storage and cold chain, actively develop diversified circulation models, and build distribution networks such as e-commerce and farmer-supermarket direct linkage, so that prices return to product value.
Not only that, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo were also ambitious about the branded development of bananas. "For consumers, many of the well-known banana brands are foreign, while domestic banana brands are few. If we want to improve the market competitiveness of the banana industry and help more banana farmers become rich, the only way is to improve the quality of our own products and forge our own banana brand." The "Banana Twins" said with a smile. "Copying others is not as good as carving yourself, because the peak comes from originality!"
The prosperity story of the "Banana Twins" is not over yet. Next, where these two young men carrying bananas on their backs will go is unknown. But one thing can be firmly believed: for people like the "Banana Twins" who dare to take responsibility and do things steadily, no matter what their current circumstances are, prosperity and success are only a matter of time.