Large-scale planting of Yunnan sugar mandarins: farmers live in Western-style houses and drive cars to celebrate the harvest
Science and technology instructor inspecting the fields.
Walking into Mangbang Village, Xuangang Township, Mangshi, neat rows of beautiful "small Western-style houses" stand uniform, with motorcycles, small trucks and cars shuttling through the village from time to time. A modern ethnic village comes into view - under the guidance of the local government, Mangbang Village introduced leading enterprises to provide demonstration and drive, built an ecological science and technology demonstration base, and farmers adjusted the agricultural industrial structure and planted scientifically, embarking on a road to prosperity through science and technology to invigorate the border and enrich the people.
Following the winding mountain road, the car came along the gentle slope to a hilltop in Mangbang Village, where patches of tangerine trees were lush and growing well, most already entering their full production period, with plump young tangerines densely hanging from the branches.
"This is a special project demonstration base for invigorating the border and enriching the people through science and technology, undertaken and built by Dehong Kaixin Agricultural Products Development Co., Ltd. In accordance with the technical standards for pollution-free sugar mandarin cultivation, a core demonstration base of 500 mu of sugar mandarins has already been developed and built in Xuangang Township, Wuchalu Township and Fengping Town in Mangshi, and by the end of this year the construction of a 600-mu core demonstration base is planned to be completed." introduced Xiong Faxiang, head of the Science and Technology Section of the Mangshi Science and Technology Bureau.
"While building the core demonstration base, we actively drove surrounding farmers to plant sugar mandarins. In these 3 townships we distributed materials on sugar mandarin planting techniques and pest and disease control techniques, and actively carried out training on planting management techniques." introduced Zhong Shihai of Dehong Kaixin Agricultural Products Development Co., Ltd. Since preparations for the cooperative began in 2005 to plant sugar mandarins, it has been 10 years, and it has now radiated to drive more than 1,200 farming households in 10 village committees to plant sugar mandarins, with a planting area reaching more than 7,100 mu.
In this core demonstration base in Mangbang Village, the reporter saw rows of tangerine trees arranged in straight lines, some full of tangerines, others still in the growth stage. "This kind of sugar mandarin takes 3 years to bear fruit. When we promote planting among farmers, we do not blindly expand the area. We first have everyone set aside part of their land for planting, while farmers use other land to grow conventional crops to guarantee the family's economic income during these 3 years. After the first-planted trees bear fruit and there is income, the planting area is expanded according to the farmers' wishes." said Zhong Shihai.
"At present we adopt the model of 'cooperative + company + science and technology + farmers', and have established supporting rules and regulations focusing on labor employment, distribution and so on, and improved the implementation of technical measures. With reference to national and local citrus planting standards, the cooperative has compiled and promoted high-quality, high-yield, ecological and standardized production techniques to guide cooperative members in carrying out citrus planting management." said Zhong Shihai.
Whether scientific planting is good and whether the tangerines are "sweet" still has to be decided by the member farmers. "My family was among the first batch to plant. At first we only trial-planted 3 mu. After the fruit was harvested, we found that the benefits were indeed very good, and we did not have to worry about planting techniques or sales. When ripe, we just pick them and take them directly to the cooperative. The highest price reached 8 yuan per kilogram. Every year, the villagers in our village who grow sugar mandarins have an average household income of more than 50,000 yuan, and the highest reached more than 300,000 yuan. Every household has built a house, and life is getting more and more prosperous." Looking at the small young tangerines hanging all over the branches, Lao Xiang, who was working in his own field, said happily: "When the tangerines turn red, it will be time to harvest."
Today, relying on scientific planting has become the main channel for local farmers to increase income. In Mangbang Village, large scientific planting households who have tasted the "sweetness" of sugar mandarins have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain, with each family's planting area surpassing the next. Former village chief Xian Yanmao has planted more than 130 mu of sugar mandarins from 2008 to now, and is a well-known large planting household in the village. "It can be said that I have witnessed how scientific planting has increased the economic income of the people in our village year by year, and life has become happier year after year. Only by carrying out agricultural production in a standardized and scientific way can farmers escape poverty and become prosperous." said Xian Yanmao.
"In view of the low scientific and cultural quality of the growers, the company, relying on the Science and Technology Bureau and the township economic crop stations, trained and assigned 16 science and technology instructors in the 3 townships growing sugar mandarins to provide technical guidance services to farmers." Zhong Shihai stated that the company actively seeks support in policies, projects and funds to promote the development of professional cooperatives, boost agricultural production and help farmers increase income and become prosperous, and strives to build 10,000 mu of pollution-free sugar mandarin planting bases by 2018, implement 20,000 mu of contract farming, and radiate to drive more than 12,000 farming households.