Cultivating Rabdosia rubescens becomes a new path to prosperity for Zaomiao Village

"Rabdosia rubescens in Zaomiao Village was originally grown in scattered plots by some farmers. After several years of development, it has reached a scale of 2000 mu and become an important industry for increasing the income of the whole village's farmers. Zaomiao Village has also built a large-scale cultivation demonstration base for Rabdosia rubescens." Zhang Xiaoxun, director of the Agricultural Service Center of Kejing Town, told reporters recently.

Zaomiao Village in Kejing Town was once a poor village in the west. In recent years, under the leadership of the village Party branch and village committee, the villagers seized opportunities and, adapting to local conditions, developed Rabdosia rubescens cultivation, continuously expanding the planting area and gradually embarking on the road to prosperity. In 2007, taking advantage of the national effort to protect the geographical indication product of wild Rabdosia rubescens from its place of origin, Zaomiao Village cooperated with Henan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to establish a 500-mu Rabdosia rubescens research and development base. In 2009, the base was recognized by Henan Province as a "one village, one product" Rabdosia rubescens talent introduction demonstration base.

At the entrance of Zaomiao Village, villagers were weighing sack after sack of Rabdosia rubescens. Yuan Youwen, chairman of the Zaomiao Village Rabdosia rubescens professional cooperative, told reporters: "This is selling Rabdosia rubescens seedlings for cooperative members. It is now the peak growing season for Rabdosia rubescens, and the seedlings need to be renewed. We harvest some seedlings and sell them to increase people's income. This year, we cultivated nearly 20 tons of Rabdosia rubescens seedlings, and more than 10 tons have already been sold. The villagers are very satisfied with the sales income." The industrialized cultivation of Rabdosia rubescens in Zaomiao Village began in 2005. That year, the village established the Zaomiao Village Rabdosia rubescens professional cooperative, adopting a "company + base + farmer" model for production and sales. The village's Rabdosia rubescens has grown from the initial 500 mu to more than 2000 mu now, harvested every year in June and October, with total output between 400 tons and 1000 tons. The Zaomiao Village Rabdosia rubescens professional cooperative has also signed a protective-price purchase contract with Jishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., ensuring the interests of the people.

Miao Xiping, a villager in Zaomiao Village, has more than 3 mu of sloping land, and in the process of the village expanding the Rabdosia rubescens planting area, he also gained greater benefits. "More than 3 mu of sloping land is hard to farm, so I planted it all with Rabdosia rubescens. By autumn, if the Rabdosia rubescens grows well, I can earn more than 3000 yuan, and it saves labor, time, fertilizer, and pesticide spraying, with relatively good economic benefits. I plan to continue expanding the scale." It is understood that previously, the per capita net income of Zaomiao Village was only more than 3000 yuan; now, relying on the sale of Rabdosia rubescens and seedlings, villagers can increase their income by nearly 2000 yuan per person each year, and the per capita net income is more than 5000 yuan.