Article published in People's Daily
Strive to obtain food from the forest
Lin Guo has grown into distinctive industries
Yunnan ranks among the top in terms of forest area and forest coverage in the country, and its vast forests contain enormous potential for food production. Menglian avocado planting area accounts for more than 70% of the country's total, and Lincang has become the world's largest production area for Australian nuts. Local coffee and blueberries produced in Yunnan are highly sought after in the market… In recent years, Yunnan has actively practiced the concept of big agriculture and big food, striving to obtain food from forests. Forest fruits have grown into a unique industry, enriching the dining tables of consumers and enriching the wallets of farmers.
Recently, reporters visited various planting areas in Yunnan to explore the password behind the popularity of forest fruits in terms of seeds, planting, and management.
How to cultivate seeds?
To better meet the diversified needs of the market, continuous breeding and research and development are necessary
The planting area exceeds 100000 mu, accounting for over 70% of the national total. Menglian Dai, Lahu, and Va Autonomous County in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province is truly the number one county for domestically produced avocados.
In fact, the initial area of avocado cultivation in Menglian County was only 10 acres. We have traveled to major avocado producing countries around the world, inspected 7 provinces and regions in China, and conducted introduction observation and research in 8 provinces and cities in Yunnan. Finally, we decided to build the avocado base in Menglian, "said Qi Jiazhu, the general manager of Pu'er Green Silver Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Menglian has abundant sunshine and rain, less windy weather, and karst terrain slopes, which is very suitable for the planting conditions of shallow avocado roots, high water requirements, and no waterlogging.
Menglian farmers are picking avocados. Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Wenyao photographed farmers in Menglian picking avocados. Photo by Jiang Wenyao, Xinhua News Agency reporter
The company started trial planting avocados in China in 2007 and only went public for the first time in 2019, with a total investment of over 100 million yuan. Cultivating a localized new variety is not easy! "Qi Jiazhu sighed. Planting seeds is just the beginning, and it will be a year before we know which ones can survive; It takes at least five years to know if fruit trees will bear fruit, and six or seven years to know if avocados are high-yielding; High yielding varieties need to be tested on a small scale to determine if they can maintain stable production.
Even if high-yield and stable avocado varieties are found, unexpected pests and diseases, as well as dry and cold climates, may endanger the development of the industry. To cultivate seeds with better disease resistance and adaptability to different climates, and better meet the diversified needs of the market, continuous breeding and research and development are necessary. Now, Qi Jiazhu's company has developed avocado varieties covering early, mid, and late ripening, with 9 categories of independent intellectual property rights. In order to shorten the time from planting to harvesting for farmers and reduce planting costs, the company has also developed large seedling breeding technology since the beginning of this year. Farmers can earn profits in just two years after transplanting.
80% of the fat in avocados is unsaturated fatty acids, and compared to other common fruits, avocados have relatively high levels of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Yang Tiankun, director of the Joint Research Center for Avocados at the Tropical and Subtropical Economic Crop Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that due to its unique nutritional value, avocados have gradually become a "star fruit" sought after in the market in recent years.
As long as the breeding bottleneck is overcome, domestic avocados will have a better taste than imported ones. One hundred million yuan in exchange for Chinese domestic avocado seeds is worth it! "Qi Jiazhu said. Mastering germplasm resources can ensure the sustained and stable development of the avocado industry.
A solid foundation in breeding is established, and the industry has strong potential for development. In 2023, the fresh avocado production in Menglian will reach 17300 tons, accounting for 80% of the national avocado production, successfully replacing about 15% of China's avocado consumption in imports.
How to manage fruits?
Fourth level technology personnel collaborate to create a training service system
Arrange rows of sturdy fruit trees, adorned with shiny green fruits. Picking leaves and caressing branches, technician Tian Xiaoying talks confidently at the Dahongshan Nut Base in Yongde County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. As early as 1991, Yongde County successfully planted Australian nuts, and by 2023, the planting area of Australian nuts in Lincang City had reached 2.6277 million mu, accounting for 40% of the global planting area.
In 2017, Tian Xiaoying returned home and transferred over 30 acres of land to plant Australian nuts. The first two or three years were good, and the trees gradually began to bear fruit. The good times don't last long, the trees grow taller and taller, but the yield of fruits decreases. Planting trees is easy but managing fruits is difficult. Fortunately, later on, teachers from Lincang Academy of Forestry taught the techniques step by step, so we didn't waste our time, "said Tian Xiaoying.
Australian nuts planted in Lincang, provided by the Propaganda Department of Lincang Municipal Committee. Australian nuts planted in Lincang, provided by the Propaganda Department of Lincang Municipal Committee
The cultivation and management methods of nuts cannot rely solely on farmers' own exploration. Lincang has chosen to bring technological services into the hard fruit forest. Last year, Huazhong Agricultural University, Tropical and Subtropical Crop Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland Sciences, and Lincang Academy of Forestry jointly established 17 core experimental sites for nut cultivation. Evaluate problems, provide solutions, and jointly create a training service system among scientific and technological personnel at the provincial, municipal, county, and township levels, "said Tang Shaoping, a researcher at the Tropical and Subtropical Economic Crop Research Institute of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Excessive growth at the top of trees, insufficient water and fertilizer supply during the flowering period, limited pollinators, and pests and diseases can all affect the yield of Australian nuts, "said Tang Shaoping. With the three key technologies of" falling head happy "," protecting flowers and fruits ", and" planting bees in orchards ", combined with grafting to improve new varieties, the average yield of nuts per mu in Dahongshan base has increased from less than 100 kilograms to 340.56 kilograms.
After training, Tian Xiaoying has proficiently mastered a complete set of nut management techniques. In his nut forest, the upward growing part of the trunk has been cut off, and beehives are arranged in an orderly manner under the tree. In the forest, the fruits are abundant and fragrant. As Tian Xiaoying spoke, she skillfully demonstrated the grafting technology of a new variety to the reporter. "Now my family's Australian nut variety has been improved by half. The 'nut honey' produced by the beehive is of good quality and can be sold for more than 60 yuan per kilogram
In the processing plant of Kangyunpin Industrial Development Co., Ltd. in Lincang City, the automated processing production line has been repaired and is waiting for the picking season. Last year, 3500 tons were processed, and this year it is expected to exceed 10000 tons, "said Li Xiaobo, the person in charge of the processing plant. Domestic Australian nuts can be harvested, processed, and delivered to consumers in as little as 15 days, with a stronger milk aroma.
Leading enterprises have not only opened up sales channels, but also driven the improvement of planting levels. Unconsciously, companies such as Zhuobei, Kosida, and Lenovo Jiawo have successively established small berry industries in Yunnan, with production bases now covering 250000 acres. Among them, Yunnan blueberries, which are listed at off peak times, have become a major industry with an annual output of over 100000 tons.
Why is the product selling well?
If the market wants high-quality products, we produce them
As early as 1892, Yunnan began to introduce coffee, but in recent years, Yunnan coffee has gradually become popular. At the foot of Gaoligong Mountain, there are 13800 acres of lush coffee forests planted in Xinzhai Village, Lujiang Town, Longyang District, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province. Wang Jiawei, the secretary of the village party branch, is very familiar with Yunnan's coffee industry.
In the 1980s, Yunnan began to cultivate coffee on a large scale. Wang Jiawei said that there are many varieties planted, but coffee farmers only focus on planting and do not sell them. "At that time, after harvesting coffee fruits, they would only handle them briefly and queue up at the entrance of the purchasing merchants, afraid that they would not sell them." In coffee producing areas such as Baoshan and Pu'er, coffee farmers often abandoned planting due to low prices, and the coffee industry was once trapped in a cycle of "low price – cutting trees – high price – planting trees".
How to break out of this cycle? The problem still lies in the quality and brand of coffee, "said Wang Jiawei. Last year, the per capita consumption of coffee in China reached 16.74 cups, and consumers have increasingly high requirements for the aroma, flavor, and aftertaste of coffee. If the quality is not up to standard, it is difficult for coffee to sell at a good price.
Coffee farmers are picking ripe coffee fruits. Photo by Qiu Guifang. Coffee farmers are picking ripe coffee fruits. Photo by Qiu Guifang
In recent years, Yunnan Province has focused on improving the quality of coffee and establishing local coffee brands by targeting the rate of high-quality products and deep processing. When the market wants high-quality products, we produce them, "said Wang Jiawei. Premium coffee is the result of a chain reaction of various links such as product selection, planting, picking, processing, and baking. Targeting market demand, Xinzhai Village began to introduce leading enterprises.
We provide infrastructure, and enterprises guide coffee farmers to standardize planting, picking, and drying processing. The rate of high-quality products has significantly increased, and subsequent sales have been guaranteed, "said Wang Jiawei. In recent years, coffee processing enterprises have gradually gathered in Xinzhai Village, which has 13 coffee processing enterprises, 5 coffee plantations, and 100 specialty coffee shops. Nowadays, many baristas at home and abroad come to me to buy coffee beans, "said Fan Qizuo, founder of the boutique coffee plantation in Zuoyuan, Xinzhai Village.
The village has taken advantage of the situation and created "coffee tourism integration" projects such as coffee experience cafes and homestays. Last year, Xinzhai Village received about 150000 tourists. Tourists come to experience coffee picking, roasting, making handmade coffee, and tasting specialty dishes made with coffee, "said Wang Jiawei. Both online and offline, the village is very popular, and products such as hanging ear coffee and freeze-dried coffee powder developed and produced for market demand are also selling well in the live broadcast room of the village run enterprise" New Coffee ". Last year, the annual output value of coffee in Xinzhai Village reached 130 million yuan, and the per capita income of villagers exceeded 30000 yuan.
Xinzhai Village is a microcosm of the high-quality development of the coffee industry in Yunnan Province. Last year, the coffee planting area in Yunnan reached 1.146 million mu, with a green bean production of 146000 tons and a comprehensive output value exceeding 59 billion yuan. Both the planting area and output accounted for over 98% of the country's total.