How much change can a remote small village undergo in six years? What can an ordinary village Party secretary accomplish in six years?文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
In Shunli Village, Xingshan Town, Shuangcheng City, the per capita net income has risen from over 2,000 yuan to more than 10,000 yuan; the dirt roads that were muddy in spring, summer, and autumn have become concrete roads; and seventy or eighty adobe houses have been replaced by brick-and-tile homes. In this same Shunli Village, over 10,000 mu of farmland has shifted from random cultivation to organic farming, making it the first organic farm in the province.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
All these changes are attributable to the hard work of one person—he is Shunli Village's leader, Village Party Branch Secretary Zhang Xiaojun.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
An Organic Farm: From Vision to Reality文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
In 2005, Zhang Xiaojun became Party Branch Secretary of Shunli Village and proposed the idea of developing a circular economy. Specifically, this meant developing biogas and using discarded biogas residue and slurry as organic fertilizer, so that the rice, millet, soybeans, and other coarse grains produced would become organic foods; meanwhile, the byproducts of organic corn would be used as feed to raise cattle, pigs, and chickens, thereby producing organic cattle, pigs, and chickens. This approach would turn livestock and poultry manure in Shunli Village into energy and fertilizer, while organic products would sell at high prices—wouldn't this cycle make the village rich? The villagers were skeptical, wondering whether Zhang Xiaojun was just making empty talk.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
Not long after, the village established the joint-stock “Baokang Agricultural Products Co., Ltd.” through organizations such as the dairy cattle association, crops association, and pig-raising association. The company signed grain purchase agreements with villagers. The village Party branch and village committee mobilized and supported villagers in building biogas digesters and using organic fertilizers such as biogas residue and slurry to grow organic grain.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
After three years of effort, 40% of farmers in Shunli Village had access to biogas, and most farmland used organic fertilizers such as biogas residue, biogas slurry, and farmyard manure. Zhang Xiaojun invited experts from Northeast Agricultural University to carry out overall planning for the construction of the organic farm and began working to transform the planting industry toward organic agriculture.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
Organic Agricultural Products: The Main Force for Increasing Income文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
After three years of conversion, in 2008, the Nanjing Guohuan Organic Certification Center certified 2,800 mu of farmland in Shunli Village as organic, making Shunli Village the first village in the province whose farmland passed organic certification. In 2009, the organically certified farmland area in Shunli Village reached 4,600 mu, and last year this figure rose to 9,200 mu, accounting for about 60% of the total farmland area. Shunli Village became the first organic farm in the province.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
Selling only organic raw grain would certainly not yield a large increase in value. Using “Baokang Company” as a platform, Zhang Xiaojun registered the “Shuangchengbao” brand trademark and processed the organic grain produced by the cooperative into specialty grain products. Then, byproducts such as bran from grain production were turned into raw materials for liquor-making and processed into organic liquor. The organic distiller's grains and organic crop straw were then used as livestock feed to raise and produce organic pigs and cattle, and further produce organic milk.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
“Shuangchengbao” brand rice, millet, kidney beans, and others, after being packaged and marketed by Baokang Company, all sold for more than 10 yuan per jin. After passing through the stomachs of more than 3,000 cattle, over 10,000 pigs, and more than 100,000 chickens, organic straw became organic cattle, organic pigs, and so on, which also sold at prices much higher than ordinary pigs and cattle. On the same land as before, grain prices also doubled, and the village's per capita income rose steadily like sesame flowers blooming higher and higher.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
One Cooperative Member Earns Three “Salaries”文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
Wang Shufeng, a farmer from Chijiatun in Shunli Village, told reporters that last year he brought home three “salaries.” The first was 60,000 yuan from investing 120 mu of land in the cooperative; the second was more than 10,000 yuan from working for a year at Baokang Agricultural Products Co., Ltd.; and the third was more than 5,000 yuan in annual dividends from the company. Wang Shufeng said proudly that earning 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a year was no worse than being a white-collar worker in the city. In Shunli Village, there are many farmers like Wang Shufeng.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
Shunli Village's organic grain products gradually became famous within and beyond the province. Zhang Xiaojun and Shunli Village did not stop there: with organic planting, organic breeding, and organic processing, Shunli Village achieved comprehensive value-added growth in “planting, breeding, and processing.”文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/
As the saying goes, “Good wine needs no bush.” Yang Zhuoshu, president of Hebei Zhuoda Group, visited Shunli Village twice to discuss cooperation, planning to build a large-scale organic food production and processing base here and, relying on the Shunli Organic Cooperative, absorb farmers across regions, expand the organic crop planting area to 150,000 mu within five years, and build the “Shuangchengbao” brand organic food into a well-known domestic brand.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/am/11320/