Saline-alkali land in Lanxi, Heilongjiang grows a "wealth-generating grass"

Standing in the saline-alkali land improvement experimental field in Shengli Village, Yuanda Township, Lanxi County, Heilongjiang Province, one can see that several hundred mu of alfalfa have already put on a green coat. Wang Fengcai, a farmer from Shengli Village, said that a few years ago nothing could be planted here, and even cattle and sheep were unwilling to “visit.”

Lanxi County is a national-level key county for poverty alleviation and development. Large stretches of dazzling white “alkali patches” here were once completely barren. “Saline-alkali land, cracked yellow soil, no wild grass grows, let alone grain” was a true portrayal of the situation, and how to shake off poverty and become prosperous had long been a difficult problem troubling the local area.

In 2012, the Grass Research Institute of the Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences introduced alfalfa cultivation locally, and the formerly barren land was revitalized. Zhang Yuexue, director of the institute, said that in the nearby 5,000 mu of experimental fields, some plots had a pH value reaching 8.5, and only alfalfa, with its well-developed root system and strong salt tolerance, could adapt.

According to reports, alfalfa is known as the “king of forage grasses,” combining the advantages of a fiber plant and a protein feed, and is the most widely cultivated forage grass in the world.

Zhao Zhengyou, Party secretary of Yuanda Township, said that last year forage grass sold well, with several enterprises each raising over a thousand dairy cows competing to buy it, and farmers achieved benefits of about 1,500 yuan per mu, with another bumper harvest expected this year. Compared with the previous days of planting corn for only a few hundred yuan per mu or even losing money, the change could be described as earth-shaking.

Seeing that alfalfa cultivation had promise, many farmers joined in one after another, growing from the initial few dozen households to more than 200 households. The planting area expanded to more than 50,000 mu, accounting for one third of the total cultivated land area of Shengli Village.

“Developing alfalfa cultivation has driven migrant workers to return home for employment. Last year alone, farmers earned more than 2 million yuan in labor fees from the experimental fields,” Zhao Zhengyou said.

In order to help farmers become prosperous, Shengli Village also established a forage grass production cooperative and, under the guidance of agricultural experts, achieved standardized and scientific forage grass cultivation. “We plan to further expand alfalfa cultivation and strive to turn Shengli Village into a ”hometown of forage grass“ in 2014.” Zhao Zhengyou said.