Xizai's honey dates are especially crisp and fresh under the warm winter sun

Text and photos provided by / Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station

Under the warm winter sun of southern Taiwan, China, the panel of judges commissioned by the Council of Agriculture's Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station for the "101st Year (2012) Premium Honey Date Cultivation and Orchard Evaluation" walked through one honey date orchard after another, and finally found the healthiest and highest-quality honey date orchard. So who won the judges' favor like this? It was none other than the farmer from Yanchao District, Kaohsiung City—Lai Longxi, who has a resounding reputation in the Taipei auction market.

"Xizai's" honey date orchard not only has spacious grassy working paths; as the sunlight pours down, it evenly penetrates the leaves, and the glistening golden fruits are neatly arranged on the branches and buds, making one's mouth water. It was precisely this scene and the incredibly delicious honey dates that deeply attracted the panel of judges, earning him first prize in the 2012 Premium Honey Date Orchard Management Competition.

↑The re-evaluation panel visits Xizai's orchard.

Lai Longxi, 48 years old this year and known as "Xizai," is someone for whom it is truly hard to believe that he would give up a stable electronics engineer position to devote himself to this kind of agricultural production that depends on the weather; most people thought he was crazy. In the early days, he and his father, who had more than 30 years of experience cultivating honey dates, often disagreed, and afterward he persuaded his father to compete with him. Of course, "old ginger is spicier," and the father beat the son; afterward, unwilling to accept this, he attended training courses many times and worked hard to study deeply. From 1996 to the present alone, he attended 7 sessions of the Kaohsiung Station's professional honey date cultivation training courses.

Associate Researcher Qiu Zhuying, a jujube expert at the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, remembers that during the training session in September 2008, he even asked for leave to go home and cover the netting because of a typhoon warning, in order to protect the honey date plants from being destroyed by the typhoon. This kind of diligence in continuously absorbing new knowledge and his professional dedication enabled him to win the championship in the 2009 National Honey Date Quality Evaluation the following January, and his father has let him "head the household" ever since.

↑The preliminary review panel discusses intently.

This "Engineer Lai" also became a "professional farmer" managing 2.8 hectares of honey dates, and the registered trademark "Xizai's Honey Dates" became a frequent first-place name in the Taipei auction market.

"Xizai" himself emphasizes that he began following his father around the fields at the age of 4. Perhaps it is this feeling for the land that made him deeply understand the importance of harmonious coexistence between nature and humans, so the orchard uses grass cultivation and friendly fertilization methods, 80% organic fertilizer plus 20% chemical fertilizer, pest and disease management all uses preventive application, and shoot management must allow every fruit to receive the nourishment of sunlight; he also implements the production and sales traceability system, truthfully recording the use of pesticides and fertilizers, so that consumers can safely eat with "diehard" loyalty. This kind of health management model that is "enough to move people" can be referenced and adopted by farmers.

↑Lai Longxi (center) won the championship in this edition of the honey date quality evaluation.

Huang Dechang, Director of the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, pointed out that the 55 groups of competing fruit products provided by these first-rate honey date cultivation experts in the Gaoping area began competing on the table on January 3, comparing beauty, sweetness, and deliciousness. The 12 carefully selected winners must also have their place of origin and cultivation environment investigated to see whether they are healthy and safe, whether they were raised according to the rules; whether there are complete records of pesticide use and fertilizer management, whether the tree body is full of vitality, and whether the fruit is healthy, safe, and of good quality. Under such strict selection conditions, it was quite difficult for "Xizai" to stand out.