home news forum careers events suppliers solutions markets expos directories catalogs resources advertise contacts
 
News Page

The news
and
beyond the news
Index of news sources
All Africa Asia/Pacific Europe Latin America Middle East North America
  Topics
  Species
Archives
News archive 1997-2008
 

China - New project “incubates” would-be farmers and teaches them to grow unusual, heirloom and miniature veggies for high-end clients


Beijing, China
December 10, 2013


Young farmers are selecting seeds in the Modern Agriculture Park in Langxia Town, Jinshan District. The park is a model base for a wide range of Jinshan-grown fruits and vegetables. (Photo source: Shanghai Daily)

A new project “incubates” would-be farmers and teaches them to grow unusual, heirloom and miniature veggies for high-end clients. Tan Weiyun reports.

 

Watermelon as small as a thumb, purple rapeseed, black potatoes and haricot beans more than 30cm long are among proud farmer Gao Ming’s “weird fruits and vegetables.”

 

And they are making him rich.

 

“See, the giant haricot bean even bigger than cucumbers,” says the 40-year-old farmer entrepreneur of his experiment in growing big beans and unusual varieties of produce for high-end customers.

 

Gao is one of a growing number of new farmer entrepreneurs who are cultivating miniature, rare and “new, fine-provenance” vegetables. The project is underway in Langxia Town of Jinshan District. Some are heirloom vegetables.

 

But prospective farmers, mostly university graduates, are also being cultivated. The Jinshan project of incubating agricultural entrepreneurs has been named one of Shanghai’s top 10 young entrepreneur projects, and the only one in agriculture.

 

Around 90 types of vegetables are grown commercially every year. Gao himself also grows 100 varieties experimentally.

 

Sustainable farming methods are used and the main customers are high-end hotels and restaurants.

 

Farmers invite hotel chefs and restaurant owners to visit, see and taste the produce and try different cooking methods. Based on feedback, more of the chosen crops will be planted.

 

The vegetables, many with traditional medical functions, include red lotus, black yams, fruity white gourd, white cucumber and a range of tomatoes.

 

In 2005, Gao retreated from the high-profit construction industry and moved to suburban Jinshan District to become a farmer. He traded his suits and leather shoes for work clothes and boots and rolled up his sleeves.

 

“I saw the opportunity in agriculture,” Gao says. “Today it’s clearly a wise decision.”

 

In recent years, Jinshan has been attracting young people to farming. Since 2005, family-style farms and associations of farmers have developed; small plots have been consolidated and rented out to big farms.

 

Gao was a pioneer.

 

“I’m now a farmer, but not an ordinary one,” he says. “What I’m doing is raising healthy foods in an environmentally friendly way.”

 

His 100-mu (6.67-hectare) Gaolaozhuang (Gao’s Village) has developed new types of fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs, including fruity white gourd, black yams, and white cucumbers.

 

His thumb-watermelon was launched on the market this summer, and it was a huge success, selling for 160 yuan (US$26) per kilogram.

 

The farm gets more than 35,000 visitors every year, generating a sales volume of 6 million yuan (US$985,200).

 

Gao established an online business platform Tian Tou Pi (literally “bulk from the fields”), which receives around 90 orders every day.

 

“This is an ideal business approach combining high-added value agricultural products and modern, high-tech support,” he says.

 

So far, 26 farms in Jinshan are using the sales platform and by year’s end, sales are estimated to reach 10 million yuan, a 50-percent increase over 2012.

 

The success of Gao’s farm inspired the district government, which encourages young entrepreneurs to start up their business in agriculture.

 

“Modern agriculture is badly in need of young people with skills and enthusiasm, but they are often short of money and lacking experience,” says Lu Caihua, deputy director of the local department of human resources and social security.

 

The district and Gao worked together to establish the Gaolaozhuang Association of farmers as an incubator for young, inexperienced growers. The association’s farm in Langxia Town provides everything: start-up funds, seeds, training, fertilizer, mulch, irrigation, greenhouses and plastic sheds. It’s fully equipped for modern agriculture.

 

Each entrepreneur can rent 1,000 to 2,000 square meters at first for trial.

 

The growing process is guided, monitored and inspected by Gao’s expert team to guarantee quality, he says.

 

The products are then sold on Gao’s online platform and he deducts the cost of inputs from the final earnings.

 

After deductions, each farmers has a profit of around 30,000 yuan per mu (1/15 hectare) a year, which is high in agriculture, he says.

 

New types of vegetables have high added value, Gao says.

 

He is confident of success.

 

“Everyone can learn if he takes farming seriously,” Gao says. “With this new approach, young farmers can learn about agricultural business management and sales without taking any risk.”

 

According to Gao, the learning process takes around a year and new farmers can grow at least four batches of different crops to get a general understanding about roots, tubers, melons, fruits, leaves and buds, as well as marketing and sales, Gao says.

 

The young farmers are mainly Jinshan locals with university degrees and some knowledge of agriculture.

 

The project has attracted many young people and seven have been selected so far.

 

“I hope more young people can join us, establish their own business and rejuvenate the agriculture industry,” Gao says. “Maybe they will find broader prospects in agriculture than in being civil servants.”

 

Farmer Wang Jianfeng, who is in his early 40s, from Jiangzhuang Village, Caojing Town, is being “incubated.”

 

His small farm of more than a hectare is planted with thumb watermelons. There’s a three-month wait for orders.

 

Seeds, techniques and sales are all supported by Gao’s farm. The profit per mu is double that of traditional crops, Wang says. With five crops every season, he can grow 40 crops a year for an annual income of 100,000 yuan.

 

The heirloom and special varieties bring high prices.

 

Take purple rapeseed. Each mu produces around 2,500kg. As it sells 24 yuan per kilogram, the output value of one mu can be 60,000 yuan.

 

The growth cycle of red lotus is only two and a half months and the average yield per mu can reach 3,00kg. Sold at 33.60 yuan per kilogram, the output value can reach 100,000 yuan per mu once.

 

Every year Gao’s R&D team experiments with more than 100 types of vegetables, fruits and herbs.

 

He can only fill 60 percent of his orders, given the farm’s size and capacity, but he emphasizes that the size of the planting area is controlled to ensure high quality for high-end restaurants and hotels.

 

“We only plant healthful crops, which are very popular among high-end clients,” he says.

 

(Source: Shanghai Daily via Xinhuanet & Ministry of Agriculture)

 



More news from: China, Ministry of Agriculture


Website: http://www.agri.gov.cn

Published: December 11, 2013

The news item on this page is copyright by the organization where it originated
Fair use notice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Copyright @ 1992-2024 SeedQuest - All rights reserved