鈥淚canmakeoverRMB60,000thisyear,nearlyRMB20,000morethanpreviousyears,鈥滺utoldChinaToday.
HuisoneofthemanyfarmersonZhuhuFarminPoyangCountydedicatedtoecologicalfarmingandrewardedwithhighreturns.SuchoperationsformpartofChina鈥檚nationalruralrevitalizationcampaign.Jiangxi,whichhasalongandrichhistoryofagriculture,hasbeenexportinggrainstootherprovincessincetheestablishmentofthePeople鈥檚RepublicofChina.Thelocalprovincialgovernmentisfine-tuningthiscampaignbyincorporatingthrivingbusinesses,apleasantlivingenvironment,improvedsocialetiquetteandcivility,effectivegovernance,andbetterstandardoflivingintothemodernrurallifestyle.
FosteringAgribusiness
Thrivingbusinessesarepivotalinadvancingtheruralrevitalizationstrategy.Theprovincehasplacedsupplyingqualityagriculturalproduceonthetopofitsagendatocarryoutsupplysidestructuralreforminruralareas.Itinitiatednineagriculturaldevelopmentprojectsincludingplantingqualityrice,vegetables,fruitsandtea,aswellasdevelopingruraltourism,inanattempttobuildlocalagriculturalbrands.Qualityriceplantingspearheadstheefforts.
ThemachineswiththunderingsoundsinaricemillofZhuhuFarmsignaltheautomaticriceproductionlineisinoperation.Accordingtoasuperintendentthere,ariceproductionlinewithacapacityof150tonswasintroducedwhenthefarmestablishedapartnershipwithCRNgFungin2016.鈥淭headdedvalueofriceissignificantlyimprovedasweareabletoprocessrice,ricenoodles,andotherbyproducts,鈥漢enoted.
Toensureeco-friendlyfarming,ZhuhuFarmtakesmeasurestoimproveandfertilizethesoilwithnaturalways,aimingatgrowingqualityandnutritiousricewhilenotharmingtheenvironemnt.TeamingupwiththeChineseAcademyofAgriculturalSciencesandChinaNationalRiceResearchInstitute,thefarmintroducesandpromotesnewvarietiesofriceandnewgrowingtechnologies,settingupabatchoflargescale,specializedricegrowingbases.
Meanwhile,thefarmencouragesaplant-to-orderapproachandpaysheedtovaluechain.Withthemarket,businesses,andricegrowingbasescoordinatedwitheachother,theorderpriceperkgriceis10to15percenthigherthanthemarketrate.
Asaregionwithrelativelyweaksecondaryandtertiaryindustries,ZhuhuFarmmanagestoacceleratethedevelopmentofmodernagriculture.Withfarmingnowseenasaprofession,localslikeHuareenjoyingthefruitsoftheirlaborintheagriculturalsectorbringinginaddedvalueofRMB70million,withRMB41millionbeingnetprofitin2017.TheincomeforlocalfarmersaveragedaroundRMB60,000.
ButforZhuhuFarmthisisonlythetipoftheiceberg.In2018,thefarmstartedanambitiousplanofbuildinganagribusinesscomplexcomprisingofariceprocessingindustrialpark,afreightterminal,alogisticscenter,andruraltouristsites,toboostanintegrateddevelopmentofthefirst,secondary,andtertiaryindustries.
ThewholeofJiangxiProvinceisinspiredbythesuccessofZhuhuFarm.Theprovincialgovernmentplanstoreplicatetheagribusinesscomplexin100countiesinanefforttoimproveagriculturalperformanceandfarmers鈥檒ivelihoods.By2020,atotalof28.25millionmu(about1.88millionhectares)offarmlandwillhavebeenimprovedandbetterdevelopedintheprovince.
Farmersplantriceseedlingswithamachine.LiCongzhongBeautifulCountryside
ThepreviouslyimpoverishedcountyofWan鈥檃ninsouthcentralJiangxiProvinceisunrecognizabletoday.Adecadeago,Wan鈥檃nCounty,thesecondlargestcountywitharelocatedpopulationandavitalpartoftheJinggangMountainOldRevolutionaryBasewasacollectionofdilapidatedvillagesscatteredacrossthemountainousregion.
Todaymodernhousesarearrangedinanorderlyfashionandcrumblingwallshavebeenrepairedandusedtoshowcasecolorfulpaintingsbylocalfarmers.AseniorresidentsurnamedLuoknowseverythingaboutthechanges.鈥淚tfeelslikewearenowlivinginapainting.Thelivingenvironmentisimprovingyearbyyear.Theroadgetswider,thewatergetsclearer,andpeoplebecomemorevibrant,鈥漵aidthe70-year-old.
Thechangesareattributedtoeffortsofreducingpovertythroughindustrialdevelopment.AccordingtoLiWeiping,SecretaryofWan鈥檃nCountyCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina,thecountyrolledoutaplantosupportonebusinessineverytown,andoneindustrialbase,oneagriculturalcooperative,onephotovoltaicpowerstationandonee-commerceservicestationineachvil-lagetopromotelocalagribusinessandraisefarmers鈥檌ncomes.鈥淔orpoorhouseholdsthatareshortofinitialfunds,thegovernmentoffersaminimumsubsidyofRMB5,000sothattheycanstartabusiness,鈥漵aidLi,emphasizingthegovernment鈥檚urgencytohelpfarmers.
L眉fengFruitCooperative,initiatedbyDengLanyun,isacaseinpointofgettingpeopleoutofpovertythroughindustrialdevelopment.Deng,togetherwithherfellowfarmers,hasplanted20varietiesoffruitsincludingtangerines,honeypomelos,peaches,andplums.Havingexpandedfrom320mu(about21hectares)toacurrentscaleof5,000mu(about333hectares),thecooperativenowhasitsownregisteredFujingbrandandasalesnetwork,benefitingsome100households.
Localhistoricalandculturallegaciesarealsoassetstodevelopdistinctivebusinesses.FarmersinWan鈥檃nCountyhaveenjoyedareputationforartisticcreativitythroughouttheirhistory.Theworkstheypaintareofartisticvalueandreflectthelocalrurallife.Wan鈥檃nis,therefore,dubbedthecountyoffarmers鈥檖aintings.InApril2017,thecountyintroducedaseriesofpoliciestosupportlocalfarmerstocreatetheirartworksandturnthemintobusinesses.Itinvitedwell-knownpaintersanduniversityteacherstothecountyforexchangeandtrainingprograms,aimingathelpinglocalpaintersimprovetheirtechniques.Thecountyalsobuiltanindustrialbasefordevelopingthefarmers鈥檃rtindustrybyintegratingexhibitions,trainings,sales,andruraltourism.
Withfarmers鈥檃rtasthecorebusiness,Wan鈥檃nhasdevelopedscenicspotssuchasteagardensandtouristactivitiessuchasraftingtrips.Byconnectingtheseservices,tworuralsightseeingbeltshavetakenshape.Thethrivingagribusinessandfarmer鈥檚art-basedtourismmakeWan鈥檃nCountyexemplaryinbuildingabeautifulcountrysideandshakingoffpovertyinJiangxiProvince.
Inthenextthreeyears,theprovinceplanstobuildabeautifulcountrysidebyrenovating20,000villages,andeffortswillbemadetobalancethedevelopmentofruraltourismandtheimprovementofpeople鈥檚lives.Riceseedlingsaregrownindustrialstyleonalargescale.HuWeiweiSharingtheBenefits
鈥淥urvillagefinallyhasasecuredsourceofincome,鈥漵aidLaiYiming,avillagePartychiefinPingxiangCity,westJiangxiProvince.鈥淭hisyear,wewillhavearentincomeofRMB45,000fromapieceoflandwhichhasbeenrentouttoanenterprisetorunapotterybusinessandtourismrevenueofRMB44,000fromhospitalityandticketsales.鈥滻n2017,thevillageadoptedanewpracticeofdoingbusiness.Residentswereencouragedtopooltheircapital,labororresources,toestablishastartupwherecontributorsareallshareholders.Themovehasresultedincollectivebenefits.Inthepast,thevillagecollectiveeconomywaslikeanemptyshell,resultinginthevillagePartybranchunabletocarryoutconcreteprojectstobenefitlocalpeople.Enterprisesestablishedbysomeresidentswerebooming,butthemajorityoflocalpeoplestayedpoor.Mostvillagesinthecityfacedsuchaplight.
Thingsbegantochangewhenlocalgovernmentsuggestedtheconceptofcrowdfunding.SanwanVillagewaschosenasapilot.WithvillageofficialsandPartymemberstakingthelead,386residentsin83householdscontributedthefundsandsetupacouncilforbuildingabeautifulcountryside.WithaWeChat(aChinesesocialmediaplatform)groupsetupforcrowdfunding,thevillageraisedRMB32,000from19householdsin2017,withwhichsmallfactoriesformakingchopsticks,toothpicks,andbroomswereestablished.InjustsixmonthstheysawsalesrevenuereachRMB120,000.AdividendofRMB100wasgiventoeachhousehold.In2018,thevillageraisedanotherRMB1.2millionthroughcrowdfunding.Itshutdownapollutingpigfarmcoveringanareaof10mu(about0.67hectare)andcooperatedwithanenterprisetoestablishapotterybusinessonthispieceofland.Thevillagealsodevelopedanecologicaltourismresortwithactivitiessuchasraftingtripsavailable.ItisestimatedthateveryhouseholdwillhaveanextraincomeofRMB10,000everyyearthankstotheseprojects.ThevillagecollectiveeconomycoffersnowholdinexcessofRMB500,000inrevenue.
ThesuccessofSanwanVillagestrengthenedthedeterminationoflocalgovernmenttodevelopthevillagecollectiveeconomy.VillagePartybranchesacrosstheregionbegantofollowsuitbymakinguseofidleresources.Bytakingadvantageofnaturalassetslikethefarmland,forests,andgrasslands,alongwithtradableassetssuchasrealestate,constructionland,andinfrastructure,thevalueoftheassetswasinvestedassharesinventures,cooperatives,andfamilyfarms.Idleresourcesareputintoefficientuseinthisway.Farmer鈥檚incomechannelsarealsoexpanded.
Obviously,furtheringreformandenrichingtheruraleconomyisthepathtoagriculturaldevelopmentinJiangxiProvince.In2018,theprovinceisworkingondelegatingthemanagementrightsoflandtofarmersandprotectingfarmers鈥檆ontractualrightstolandsothatfarmerscouldberealowners,managers,andbeneficiariesofruralcollectiveassets.Meanwhile,theprovinceencouragesvillagecollectiveorganizationstoparticipateindevelopingtheruraleconomybypoolingresourcesorinvestmentstolaunchanddevelopbusinessesinalmosteveryvillageinJiangxiby2020.