Jialing veteran builds an ecological estate, striving to be a leader in prosperity
On November 11, the author saw at the Tianlongtan Ecological Agriculture Industrial Park in Nixindian Village, Datong Town, Jialing District, that owner Lei Yuanfang was picking ripe golden bergamot, his face beaming with the joy of harvest.
Unchanged original intention: a veteran picks up the "green" dream again
"I grew up in the countryside and have been interested in agriculture since childhood." During the interview, Lei Yuanfang told the author that he was born in a small mountain village in Guizhou. The land in his hometown was barren and inherently unsuited to agricultural development, but he always had the idea of starting a business in the countryside.
In December 2002, after being discharged from a military unit in Nanchong, Lei Yuanfang chose to settle down and start a family in Nanchong. After taking off the "olive green," he thought about developing green ecological agriculture, but various reasons led him into the construction industry. In 2011, after accumulating a certain amount of capital, Lei Yuanfang resolutely gave up the old trade he had worked in for 8 years and started ecological agriculture development in Nixindian Village, Datong Town.
"The transportation here is convenient, less than 10 minutes from the Datong exit of the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway; water sources are abundant, with live water flowing in the mountains all year round; the terrain is open and suitable for crop growth." Lei Yuanfang said that after choosing the land, he also visited and inspected the construction of other standardized industrial parks. Having worked in the construction industry, Lei Yuanfang put his mind to the park's infrastructure construction, making the park construction and natural ecological landscape complement each other. According to reports, the industrial park is located at the foot of Jiulong Mountain, where the mountains stretch continuously and clear springs flow year-round, converging into the park to form ponds. In its design, the park broke away from the traditional "enclosure and build" model, emphasizing "building according to the mountain and acting in accordance with the water." It is understood that the industrial park covers more than 400 mu, including more than 300 mu of dryland planting area and nearly 100 mu of pond area.
Blazing a new trail: introducing golden bergamot yields results
"Golden bergamot blooms in all four seasons and bears fruit in two seasons, with a relatively long growth cycle." When it comes to the park's products, what Lei Yuanfang is most proud of is undoubtedly the golden bergamot. According to reports, golden bergamot is named for its shape resembling slightly open fingers and its golden-yellow color when ripe, and it has high medicinal and edible value. "It was precisely because I valued its market prospects that I introduced it." Lei Yuanfang told the author that at present, golden bergamot is still rare on the Nanchong market, and he is the only one in the city growing it on a large scale.
It is understood that in 2012, through market research, Lei Yuanfang learned that the local area was suitable for growing citrus, pomelo, lemon and other fruit trees, but there were already many similar products on the market, so he had to blaze a new trail to achieve high efficiency. "While inspecting various places across the country, by chance I met someone on the train selling fresh golden bergamot fruit, 80 yuan each, and passengers were even scrambling to buy them. That scene completely moved me." Lei Yuanfang said, so he traveled through many places and finally introduced golden bergamot from Zhejiang.
Lei Yuanfang said that in order to learn planting techniques, for a time he spent all day on the "bergamot planting forum," and also made multiple field visits to Zhejiang to learn golden bergamot planting experience, and even invited professional technicians from Zhejiang to provide on-site guidance.
It is understood that at present, the market price of fresh golden bergamot fruit is 14 yuan per kilogram. The prices per kilogram of dried fruit, tender leaf tips, and bergamot flowers reach 100 yuan, 6,000 yuan, and 16,000 yuan respectively. During the peak production period, golden bergamot can harvest 1.1 tons of fresh fruit, 3.5 kilograms of dried tender tips, and 1 kilogram of dried bergamot flowers per mu, with an output value of up to 52,000 yuan per mu and a single-plant output value of nearly 1,000 yuan.
This year, the golden bergamot planted by Lei Yuanfang has begun to show results. The 150 mu of golden bergamot is expected to harvest 5 tons of fresh fruit, 10 kilograms of dried bergamot flowers, and 30 kilograms of dried tender tips.
Drawing a grand blueprint: leading villagers to build an ecological estate together
Green mountains give forth verdure, and flowing water reflects green. Looking at the industrial park he has painstakingly managed for 4 years, Lei Yuanfang began planning for future development again.
"At present, with an investment of more than 800,000 yuan, a drying room and cold storage covering 500 square meters have been completed, and the equipment is being installed and debugged." Lei Yuanfang introduced that next, the park will also build a processing and packaging workshop, relying on golden bergamot and lemon to develop products such as bergamot tea and lemon tea, while also cultivating seedlings and making them into bonsai for sale to increase the added value of products. "A diversified production and marketing model will bring greater wealth and also increase income for local people." Lei Yuanfang said.
"Previously, more than half of the village's land was left uncultivated, and there were fewer and fewer laborers left at home." The village's 74-year-old villager Bai Guangwen told the author that after the industrial park was built, the village's roads, water conservancy and other infrastructure were improved. Villagers transferred their land to the industrial park and went to work in the industrial park, earning a considerable income over the year. Bai Guangwen said that by transferring his land to the industrial park, he can collect more than 3,000 yuan in land rent each year. He and his wife work in the industrial park, with an annual income of more than 40,000 yuan. According to reports, the industrial park employs about 5,000 workers each year, and after developing deep processing and ecological sightseeing tourism next, it will add more than 3,000 jobs each year.
"I want to use golden bergamot as a medium to develop rural tourism. At present, a farmhouse restaurant has been planned and is being prepared. By then, visitors can play in the water, fish, pick fruit and have fun in the park, and also taste home-brewed bergamot tea and authentic farm dishes." Speaking of the long-term plan for the ecological estate, Lei Yuanfang was full of ambition: "I want to build Tianlongtan Ecological Agriculture Industrial Park into a circular, low-carbon, three-dimensional modern planting and breeding and tourism base, and lead local farmers to create more wealth together."