During the May Day holiday, farmhouses in the southern mountainous area of Jinan welcomed another influx of tourists. Nowadays, many self-driving tourists favour farmhouses, but are no longer limited to just finding a country restaurant to have a rural meal after taking in the scenery. Organic agriculture, which still felt somewhat unfamiliar a few years ago, is now increasingly favoured and loved by the people of Jinan accreditation.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
Organic produce is gaining popularity文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
On 2 May, Mr Liu and his family of three were getting ready to drive to the Shengyuan Organic Pear Orchard in Jiyang to taste the organic pears there. “I've heard the organic pears there are especially sweet, and they grow lots of wild vegetables in the orchard too. My daughter has been wanting to go and pick wild vegetables for a long time,” said Mr Liu. He added that going far away during the short holiday wasn't really worth it, so a suburban farmhouse tour made a pretty good alternative. Meanwhile, another resident, Mr Yu, was discussing with his neighbours from the same housing estate about heading to Changqing to buy some local organic eggs. “My wife is pregnant, so I'm going to buy some organic eggs for her to eat, and it'll also give her a chance to breathe some fresh air.”文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
The reporter learned from the tourism authorities that “agritainment” venues in the southern mountainous areas and surrounding suburbs are currently very popular with visitors. Townships such as Zhonggong, Liubu, and Xiying can accommodate over 40,000 visitors a day at their agritainment businesses. Nowadays, people are no longer content with simply travelling to places like the Lesser and Greater Menya to look at the scenery and then having a meal at a farmhouse restaurant; instead, they are drawn to organic farming picking spots and demonstration gardens to buy or pick genuine organic and green agricultural products. While relaxing their minds and bodies, they can also enjoy the pleasure of labour and the health benefits of organic produce.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
Jinan has 126 organic agricultural product brands文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
An official from the municipal agriculture bureau told reporters that before 2006, Jinan had only one production unit with organic certification, and its products were mainly organic food. To date, the city has certified 126 organic agricultural products, covering multiple fields such as crop farming, animal husbandry, and food processing.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
Among them, organic scallions and fragrant rice from Zhangqiu, and Lüzhifeng organic rice from Huaiyin, developed in recent years, have already captured significant market shares domestically, becoming absolute brands in the minds of consumers. Relying on the pristine nature of organic agriculture's development, the thousand-mu organic pear orchard in Jiyang has championed campaigns such as organic flower appreciation and organic picking, allowing urban and rural residents to fully indulge in the ”organic“ experience. In addition, Changqing's “Atago” brand organic pears and “Ping-Pong Q” brand organic eggs successively served as famous agricultural products from Shandong Province for the Olympic Games and World Expo, initiating Jinan's organic agricultural products' advance into the international market.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
Ren Chuanmeng, head of the environmental protection station at the municipal agriculture bureau, explained that the certification process for organic agricultural products is extremely rigorous and the certification standards are high. Organic production must be carried out under suitable environmental conditions. Organic production bases are generally far away from urban areas, industrial and mining areas, main transport arteries, industrial pollution sources, domestic waste disposal sites, and the like. Organic agriculture has strict requirements in terms of seed and seedling selection, crop cultivation, soil and fertiliser management, pest, disease and weed control, and pollution control.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
Citizens are hoping organic produce will become more “affordable”文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
Due to their all-natural, pollution-free, safe, and nutritious characteristics, organic agricultural products are highly favored. However, compared to ordinary agricultural products, the “lofty” prices of organic products also mean many citizens only “buy a little to try.”文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
It is understood that because organic produce has very strict requirements for the production environment and quality management, along with high production costs, they come with a hefty price tag. For example, the “Ping-Pong Q” brand of organic eggs from Changqing costs an average of 3 yuan each, while the “Shengyuan” organic pears from Jiyang can fetch a market price of 10 to 15 yuan each. The organic chives produced by our city's first organic chive production base—the organic agricultural ecological park in Dangjia Subdistrict Office, Shizhong District—can sell for 100 yuan per kilogram, which is equivalent to 20 times the price of ordinary chives.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
“With technology advancing so fast nowadays and the development of new technologies, the cultivation and production costs of organic produce should gradually decrease. So, will the prices be able to drop a bit too?” Mr Li's words echoed the thoughts of many citizens. When will organic produce win both praise and popularity? Relevant figures suggest that the agricultural sector should step up proper guidance for the public, so that more people can understand and choose organic produce.文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/
(FromShunwang - Jinan Times）文章源自FOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/en/11229/