Baise's "Banana Double Stars" Create a Brand and Blaze a New Trail
Original title: The Logic of Enriching the People Behind the "Banana Double Stars"
Guangxi bananas flood into the market (file photo)
Everyone who earnestly starts a business deserves to be treated with seriousness. In Tianyang County, Baise City, Guangxi, there are two young men named Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo, who rose to fame by building Baise's largest banana standardized production technology demonstration park. Many banana farmers have benefited from this, and the two are affectionately praised by the people as the "Banana Double Stars."
What logic of enriching the people lies behind the "Banana Double Stars"? Recently, reporters visited the banana standardized production technology demonstration park in Baigan Village, Naman Town, Tianyang County. The most profound impression the visit left on the reporters was that, against the broader backdrop of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation," although the "Banana Double Stars" are still somewhat inexperienced, their resolute strides provide a real-world reference for putting the concept of industry enriching the people 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 where you stand, but the direction you face," the "Banana Double Stars" 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 to his hometown to start a business. He successively worked as a small shop owner retailing and wholesaling daily consumer goods and as a salesperson at an agricultural materials sales company, both of which ended in failure. Afterward, with his father's help, Huang Feixiao took a job at Guangxi Damenre Banana Planting Company.
As it happened, Huang Feixiao ran into Zeng Bo unexpectedly at Damenre Banana Company. Compared with Huang Feixiao, Zeng Bo's employment was relatively smooth: after graduating in 2001, he was hired directly by Damenre Banana Company.
At Damenre Banana Company, the two brothers helped each other and advanced together. Because of their outstanding performance, the company gave them a hefty reward, and that was how they earned their "first pot 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 their entrepreneurial venture. They invested more than 500,000 yuan, returned to their hometown, and transferred 100 mu of banana land, preparing to scientifically grow high-quality bananas. To save on 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. The second year they broke even. After that, profits gradually increased, and banana farmers were also very enthusiastic.
Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo were not satisfied with this. In order to help more banana farmers get rich, they set their sights on Tianyang. Tianyang is located in western Guangxi, with superior conditions such as temperature, sunlight, and soil, making it one of the few places in the country suitable for growing high-quality bananas. After many rounds of negotiation, 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, achieving this goal was no easy task. Before the land transfer, that plot in Baigan Village was "unimpressive," a slightly acidic dry field full of uneven ground and overgrown weeds and shrubs. After the transfer, the first thing Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo did was level and deep-plow the land, turning it into 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 a water-fertilizer integrated 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 formula 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 lined with high-quality special paper and fitted with a shaping bag, which can make the bananas look attractive in shape. Cold-proof bags were added to prevent rain and insects and protect the fruit clusters from external damage.
They standardized road paving. 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.
For a person wholeheartedly advancing toward a goal, the whole world will make way. More than a year later, the standardized office, large warehouse, water storage tank, water-fertilizer integrated irrigation facilities, and so on were dotted like gems throughout the banana demonstration park, radiating vigorous vitality.
Heaven does not let down the dedicated. Zeng Bo introduced that this year the Baigan banana demonstration park had initially gone into production, with stable banana yield and excellent quality, 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 over 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 our hometown can become prosperous, we've made a profit," Huang Feixiao said. "After the banana demonstration park is fully completed, it will radiate to 8 surrounding townships, involving 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."
A Clear View of the Future
How can good bananas fetch a good price? To find the answer, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo took great pains. Fortunately, they caught the "Baise No. 1" dedicated train, and some bananas sold at a good price. The opening of the "Baise No. 1" dedicated train was aimed at strengthening communication and coordination between Baise's agricultural product production and transportation and Beijing's terminal sales market, and jointly working to bring Baise and Guangxi specialty agricultural products to the national market.
"The Baise Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government's opening of the 'Baise No. 1' dedicated train is truly good, and the effect of enriching farmers and increasing income has begun to show. Taking Baise mangoes as an example, the average purchase price per kg in 2013 was 5 yuan, and in 2015 it reached 12 yuan, an average annual increase of 70%," Huang Feixiao said. "As the advantages of the 'Baise No. 1' dedicated train in stable transport capacity, high transport quality, and large transport volume are further brought into play, it becomes even more important to smooth terminal warehousing and distribution channels in Beijing and surrounding areas."
While focusing on traditional marketing channels, Huang Feixiao and Zeng Bo also worked to improve supporting facilities such as warehousing and cold chains, actively develop diversified circulation models, and build distribution networks such as e-commerce and farmer-supermarket direct supply, allowing prices to 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 familiar 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 get rich, the only way is by improving the quality of our own products and forging our own banana brand," the "Banana Double Stars" said with a smile. "Copying others is not as good as carving yourself, because the peak comes from originality!"
The story of the "Banana Double Stars" enriching the people is not over yet. Next, where these two young men carrying bananas will go is unknown. But one thing can be firmly believed: for people like the "Banana Double Stars," 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. (Staff reporter Li Chaomin)