Shanxi Youth Returning to Hometown for Entrepreneurship: Planting Astragalus membranaceus paves the way for farmers to increase income. Sheng Xia | Zhang Xinge | Shanxi Jinlin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. | Youth
Datong, July 13th (Xinhua) - Shanxi Youth Returning to Hometown for Entrepreneurship: Planting Astragalus to pave the way for farmers to increase their income
Author Yang Jieying and Zhang Xinge
In the summer season, on the north mountain of Shekebao Village, Zhaojiagou Township, Tianzhen County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, Astragalus membranaceus grows vigorously.
"Astragalus membranaceus, despite its inconspicuous appearance, its roots and stems are all treasures." Standing on the hillside, Xiong Fuming looked at tens of thousands of acres of Astragalus membranaceus and said.
Xiong Fuming is a representative of the Shanxi Provincial People's Congress and the person in charge of Shanxi Jinlin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. In 2014, Xiong Fuming, who was originally developing in another city, returned to his hometown to start a business and started planting Astragalus, leading impoverished villagers to become prosperous.
In his words, "I was born in a rural area and am the son of a farmer. I know how to deal with the people." As a provincial People's Congress representative from the grassroots of rural areas, his greatest concern is rural revitalization.
"Tianzhen County is located in a high-altitude and cold area, and the economic added value of traditional crops is not high. Through years of agricultural cultivation experience, I have found that the growth environment of Astragalus membranaceus is very suitable for the climate of Tianzhen." Xiong Fuming told reporters that after nearly 3 years of repeated improvement and trial planting, it has finally been successfully planted and formed its own technical patent, which not only increases the yield of Astragalus membranaceus, but also ensures its wild quality, achieving the "artificial and natural cultivation" of Astragalus membranaceus.
Xiong Fuming introduced that through the application of this technology, the quality of Astragalus membranaceus is good, and its comprehensive medicinal ingredients are more than three times the standard of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The economic benefits have increased by two times compared to before, while the management costs have been reduced by half.
In 2017, Xiong Fuming led the establishment of Shanxi Jinlin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. Nowadays, the company has developed into an agricultural company that integrates the cultivation, acquisition, production, deep processing, and sales of green and pollution-free products, leading its neighbors to become prosperous and increase their income.
He Yun, 56 years old this year, is from Panerjing Village, Zhaojiagou Township, Tianzhen County. He used to farm at home and relied on the weather to make a living. Currently, in Xiong Fuming's company, managing and caring for the Huangqi planting base has resulted in an average annual income increase of over 20000 yuan.
In the Huangqi processing workshop of Jinlin Agriculture, workers are sorting, screening, cleaning, slicing, processing, and transporting Huangqi to various parts of the country
Wu Xiuqing, a 50 year old slicer who was previously a housewife and had no financial means. Last year, Wu Xiuqing came to Jinlin Agriculture to become a slicer with an average monthly salary of over 4000 yuan.
My original intention was to lead farmers to become rich through technology and the market. Xiong Fuming led everyone to jointly transfer land, involving 5 townships and 14 villages, with a total area of 55000 acres. Among them, 37500 acres of Chinese medicinal herb Huangqi were planted, and the rest were planted with small grains, benefiting 536 households.
The company provides over 800 stable employment opportunities for local villagers, including planting, weeding, daily management and care, seed and seed harvesting, as well as astragalus sorting, screening and processing. The average daily wage for seasonal workers is around 120 yuan, which has driven more than 1500 households and benefited more than 2300 people.
In 2020, Jinlin Agriculture passed the national organic product certification and was selected as one of the first batch of "trustworthy enterprises" in Shanxi Province; In 2022, the company was selected as a "National Famous and Excellent New Product". In June of the same year, it applied for the "Tianzhen Huangqi" National Geographic Indication and passed the "EU certification" in August.
At the same time, Jinlin Agriculture is also a leading agricultural enterprise in Datong City, a provincial-level key leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization in Shanxi Province, a private science and technology enterprise in Shanxi Province, and an experimental project enterprise of "Ten Thousand Enterprises Revitalizing Ten Thousand Villages".
"We have been conducting research on Astragalus membranaceus and have developed over a dozen products through deep processing." Xiong Fuming introduced that the company's Astragalus membranaceus products have been exported overseas and will continue to expand into overseas markets in the next step.
