The planting story of Camellia oleifera grower Zhong Nenglin

    Hongduan Village in Hongshan Township, Changting County is the largest resettlement village in Changting County, with all 1,172 residents being migrants from the Hongduan Reservoir. After the implementation of the later-stage support policy for migrants from large and medium-sized reservoirs, Hongduan Village, under the guidance and assistance of the county migration bureau, saw the entrepreneurial enthusiasm of the migrant community fully ignited, and a number of skilled earners emerged. Camellia oleifera grower and veteran Communist Party member Zhong Nenglin is one of them.

Camellia oleifera trees promising a bountiful harvest

Establishing a cooperative and pursuing large-scale operations

After Zhong Nenglin was demobilized from the military and returned home in 1995, he was determined to get rich through hard work. As the saying goes, "live off the mountain if you live near it." After some investigation, and taking into account Hongduan Village's geographical advantages, he resolutely decided to engage in the Camellia oleifera planting industry for which Hongshan Township is famous. Camellia oil has effects such as clearing heat and resolving dampness, and killing parasites and detoxifying. It can also be used for abdominal pain from heatstroke, acute roundworm obstructive intestinal obstruction, scabies, and scalds and burns. It is a therapeutic food product deeply loved by consumers. Moreover, the Camellia oleifera tree "carries its young while pregnant," meaning that before the old fruit is picked, new flowers have already bloomed, and Hongduan Village's geographical location is very suitable for planting. Local people praise it saying: "Camellia oleifera never has empty branches year-round; before the old fruit is harvested, new flowers bloom."

Without delay, Zhong Nenglin first contracted 50 mu of barren hills and developed 30 mu of them in the initial phase. For a long time, due to the low quality of Camellia oleifera trees, backward technology, and the individual business model, the yield, price, and sales of camellia oil remained stagnant. After deducting early-stage inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides, little money was left from selling camellia oil, which was only enough to barely maintain the operation of the camellia orchard, making expansion of production impossible.

In August 2007, the Hongduan Village Committee, under the guidance and assistance of the county migration bureau, established the "Hongduan Village Camellia oleifera Cooperative." The cooperative operates under a shareholding system. At present, there are 92 shareholder grower households, with a camellia oil production output from 2,600 mu of camellia hills. Zhong Nenglin also joined the cooperative and became its president. Through the implementation of an enterprise-style management model, the cooperative improves Camellia oleifera varieties, uses farm organic fertilizer, develops green camellia oil, and finally carries out unified processing and sales through the cooperative.

The establishment of the cooperative brought a turning point to Zhong Nenglin's business. The cooperative adopts the form of  "company + cooperative + farming households," changing the past model of small-scale production and individual operation, and giving full play to economies of scale. Zhong Nenglin's Camellia oleifera plantation expanded from the previous 30 mu to 50 mu, and later he contracted another 100 mu. Now the actual Camellia oleifera planting area reaches more than 130 mu, making him a well-known large-scale Camellia oleifera grower in the area.

Seeking government support and striving to be a new-type farmer

Zhong Nenglin knew well that he could no longer work alone behind closed doors as in the past. While strengthening collaboration among Camellia oleifera growers, he should also actively seek preferential policies and support from government departments. Only in an environment of broad cooperation could the vitality of Camellia oleifera planting be further enhanced. From then on, Zhong Nenglin changed his approach of focusing only on burrowing into the camellia orchard, and frequently visited the township government and relevant county departments to learn whether there were new policies benefiting the people. When he learned that the later-stage support policy for migrants from large and medium-sized reservoirs was being implemented vigorously across the country, he actively got in touch with the county migration bureau and reported the specific situation and problems faced by his Camellia oleifera plantation. Facts proved that farmers who dare to innovate are the ones best able to adapt to the new situation, and Zhong Nenglin's approach of actively seeking government support received a response. After receiving Zhong Nenglin's report, the county migration bureau immediately organized an investigation team composed of experts and township cadres to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Camellia oleifera plantation in Hongduan Village. After investigation and evidence-gathering, the county migration bureau decided to take the lead in launching the "Hundred Villages Action for Moderately Prosperous Reservoir Areas" in Hongduan Village, Hongshan Township, and to provide project support for it. Through the efforts of Zhong Nenglin and other Camellia oleifera growers, the road project for the Camellia oleifera plantation in Hongduan Village was smoothly implemented as one of the components of the "Hundred Villages Action for Moderately Prosperous Reservoir Areas," with a total investment of 343,000 yuan, including 240,000 yuan in later-stage support funds for migrants, and 6.2 km of new roads opened.

Benefiting all under heaven: remembering poor neighbors after getting rich

Being rich alone is not real ability; only when fellow villagers become rich together is it true ability. Zhong Nenglin did not fall into the trap of "being satisfied with small progress and content with modest wealth." After earning his first pot of gold in business, he set his sights on how to help fellow villagers get rich, and his fine qualities as a veteran Communist Party member were fully demonstrated in him. Zhong Nenglin gradually increased his fellow villagers' incomes by openly sharing Camellia oleifera planting techniques, giving priority to hardworking villagers for work at the plantation, and inviting experts from the county agriculture bureau to give on-site lectures. Zhong Nenghua is a villager of Hongduan Village. His family was relatively poor and had no funds to invest, so he could only scratch a living from those few mu of land year after year. After his whole family went to help at Zhong Nenglin's Camellia oleifera plantation, their annual income increased by more than 10,000 yuan. Effort is always rewarded. Zhong Nenglin's practice of sparing no effort to help his fellow villagers won widespread praise, and the scale of his own Camellia oleifera plantation continued to expand, with per-unit yield also rising steadily. In this regard, Zhong Nenglin said: "This is like growing flowers. The flowers on your own small plot are of excellent varieties, but if your neighbor's flower varieties cannot keep up, then due to pollination and other reasons, it will directly affect the quality of your own flowers. Only when the varieties of the nearby flowers are improved can your own flowers be grown well."