“The term ”food safety" is no longer unfamiliar to Chinese people. In recent years, successive incidents such as toxic milk powder, gutter oil, and precocious puberty have repeatedly pushed the psychological limits of an already anxious public.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
“There exists a certain degree of information asymmetry in China's food market. People are unable to determine whether some of the foods they purchase are safe. As economic income continues to rise, Chinese people are increasingly focusing their attention on their own dietary health. This demand for food safety assurance has given rise to the emergence of closed-loop organic farms,” said Meng Zhaoli, chief researcher of the Industrial Technology Group at the Samsung Economic Research Institute of China, in an interview with China Industry and Economy News.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
So-called closed-loop organic farms are farms operating under the CSA model. Unlike traditional agriculture, food consumers establish an economic relationship directly with food producers, with no intermediaries involved. Consumers must sign an agreement with the farm at the very beginning of production, pay farmers a certain amount of production fees, and share the risks of agricultural cultivation with farmers. Chemical fertilizers must not be used in the agricultural production process, and fully transparent green organic production must be achieved.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
This green organic agriculture model has been developed in the United States for 20 years, while in China it is still in the exploratory stage. In 2008, Renmin University of China and the Haidian District Government jointly established the Little Donkey Civil Farm in Beijing, becoming a typical example of one of China's first CSA-model farms.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
Shi Yan, founder and person in charge of the Little Donkey Civil Farm, told a China Industry and Economy News reporter, “The farm is currently developing very well, and its income and expenditure have already reached a balance. The farm's customers are divided into two types: ordinary shares and labor shares. We use organic fertilizers such as worm castings and sesame paste residue, fully achieving ecological agriculture. Both types of customers can supervise the farm's production processes.”Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
Shi Yan told the reporter, “The concept of the Little Donkey Civil Farm is still relatively new, but production under this model can give customers a reliable guarantee of food safety. As labor-share customers, they can also come to the farm on weekends to work the land they have leased. After all, this satisfies people's need for a certain pastoral sentiment and is also a way of leisure.”Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
“I have been living in Beijing for more than 10 years. Every day I am crowded in the city working busily. On weekends, resting is nothing more than going out to eat with friends or surfing the Internet. If there were a farm where I could cultivate and relax, I believe it would be a good place to go,” Mr. Gao, who does business in Beijing, told a China Industry and Economy News reporter after learning about the Little Donkey Civil Farm.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
According to the reporter's survey, every Saturday and Sunday in Beijing, citizens can be seen driving to the suburbs to buy some agricultural trade foods produced by local farmers. The reason for buying vegetables in the suburbs is nothing more than “greener and healthier, and reassuring to eat.”Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
However, problems also exist in the development of closed-loop organic farms. Wen Tiejun, dean of the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development at Renmin University of China, once pointed out, “China's CSA-model farms require consumers to pay in advance, which differs from the traditional consumption model of paying and then taking goods. Changing the concept of consumption patterns is a major issue in their development.”Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
“China's closed-loop organic farms are still not high in terms of development scale and awareness,” said Meng Zhaoli. This model of production and consumption exists only in Beijing and Shanghai. If greater improvements can be made in publicity and distribution models, its development will know no limits. Today's booming group-buying consumption method can be applied to the development of closed-loop farms. Of course, in the fully transparent production process, modern supervisory means such as electronic monitoring should also be added to gain the trust of more consumer groups.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/
Analysis by the Samsung Economic Research Institute of China points out that before 2000, China basically had no domestic organic agricultural product market, and more than 95% of organic agricultural products were exported through organic trade. In the past 10 years, organic food has developed rapidly in China. In 2009, China's organic food sales reached 200 billion yuan. The business model of closed-loop organic farms is increasingly recognized by people. If closed-loop organic farms effectively form joint operations with the catering industry, they will expand into a broader market.Artikel berasal dariFOFCC-http://fofcc.org.cn/ms/11268/