Dr. Hu Hongtao (left) of Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences instructs crested ginger pipe technology in Xianggou Village, Laifeng County, on June 9. Photo by Xiang Hui
Crested ginger is a unique geographical indication protection product in Laifeng County, Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province, named after its phoenix-like shape, and has been cultivated for more than 300 years. Laifeng is located in the Longfeng Basin, where the unitary water runs through, the warm climate and selenium-rich yellow-brown sand soil create the gluten-free, crisp, succulent and nutrient-rich characteristics of crested ginger.
Drifting along the Shunyuan River, accompanied by bamboo rows under the cave court, the reputation of crested ginger spread to Wuhan, Changsha and the Yangtze River Delta, becoming a precious variety loaded in agricultural textbooks, academician Yuan Longping personally wrote an inscription for crested ginger. Farmers who come to Fengjiang have been planting ginger for generations and getting rich because of ginger. In recent years, Hubei Laifeng County has made full use of the brand advantages of Laifeng Fengtou Ginger, and Fengtou Ginger has continued to play an important role in helping farmers get rid of poverty and become rich.
One acre of land is planted with 10,000 households
Lixia is small and full, and the river is full. In Dawan, Zhoujiawan Village, Lushui Town, Feng county, the green crested ginger has grown to a long length, and Jiang Nong Zhou Xingfa is weeding between ridges.
According to the Laifeng County Chronicle, laifeng crested ginger has a ginger handle like a finger, the tip is bright red, slightly purple, and the tubers are snow-white. Fresh ginger is gluten-free and crisp, rich in selenium and juicy, spicy and moderate, delicious and delicious.
In the eyes of local farmers, crested ginger has always been a treasure to get rich. Crested ginger is sown in March every year, and can be harvested from mid-June to November, and one mu of land can produce more than 4,000 jin of ginger, and the output value of mu is about 10,000 yuan. Due to the short planting time and considerable output value, crested ginger is favored by local farmers. "Here, an acre of ginger land can produce a 'ten thousand yuan household.'" Ginger grower Wang Youxiang said.
Laifeng County is located in the southwest border of Hubei, and has always been a traditional material distribution center in the border areas of Hubei, Hunan Province, Chongqing and Qianzhou Provinces, and its location advantage is obvious. According to the local agricultural department, about 40% of the county's young ginger is sold to Qianjiang, Enshi, Lichuan and other places every year, and about 20% of the old ginger is sold to Hunan, Chongqing, Yichang and Sichuan Dazhou.
Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, crested ginger is listed in large quantities. Not only exported, local ginger farmers are also invited to be "ginger masters" from other places to spread ginger planting technology and processing methods in Hunan, Guizhou, Chongqing and other places.
Laifeng County Party Committee and county government attach great importance to the development of characteristic industries, as early as 1998, ginger was included in the development plan as the county's agricultural pillar industry development. Before 2000, the planting area of crested ginger was close to 50,000 mu, reaching a historical peak.
In 2007, "Laifeng Fengtou Ginger" was identified as a geographical indication protection product by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China, and 8 townships of Xiangfeng Town, Lushui Town, Manshui Town, Baifusi Town, Dahe Town, Jiusi Township, Sanhu Township and Geleche Township all have a certain planting area. In Xianggou Village, Lushui Town, ginger is planted nearly half of the cultivated land in the village.
The "crest" flutters its wings and drives strongly
There are three main sales channels for crested ginger. One is part of the "order purchase" of the county Fengtou Food Company; the second is a part of the digestion of the surrounding counties; and the third is the purchase of merchants outside the province. Li Shilin, secretary of the Xianggou Village Branch of Lushui Town, keeps the contact numbers of more than 20 foreign merchants. He said that the dependence of crested ginger on the market outside the province accounts for a large proportion, which is the main factor affecting the price, so the establishment of stable, standardized and smooth export channels is the basis for consolidating and expanding the ginger planting base.
Laifeng County Fengtou Food Company is the largest production and processing enterprise of crested ginger in the county, established in 1998, and was originally an economic entity under the Agricultural Bureau of Laifeng County. At the end of 2002, Fengtou Food Company achieved full privatization.
In order to open up the market outside the mountain, the company's general manager Tian Yanfu tasted all the bitterness. After the advent of the "crested" brand bad ginger, he took the product to the Wuhan Lefuyuan Hotel to sell, and the hotel owner refused: ginger products have always been only used as spices, which can be put on the table as a dish to eat? Tian Yanfu, who ate the "closed door soup", still insisted on door-to-door promotion, and finally made the "crested ginger" on the table of the Lefuyuan Hotel. Tian Yanfu has visited Wuhan Little Bee Food Co., Ltd. 6 times to seek joint venture cooperation. Fengtou Food Company cooperated with Chongqing Southwest Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University and Hubei University for Nationalities to successfully develop new products with high added value such as instant ginger soup, ginger sugar and ginger tea.
"As one of the characteristic industries in Laifeng County, the construction of the core demonstration base is very important to promote standardized planting and improve the quality of agricultural products." Through cooperation with scientific research institutes, the development and application of new technologies and new products, enriching product varieties, can bring new vitality to characteristic industries. Tian Yanfu, head of Laifeng County Crested Ginger Food Company, said.
With the continuous maturity of ginger processing technology, Crested Food Company has successively developed 56 series of products in five categories. Fengtou Food Company has now developed into a key agricultural leading enterprise in Enshi Prefecture.
"Hubei Famous Dishes", "Hubei Time-honored Brands", "Hubei Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Products"... As crested ginger has acquired various reputations year by year, processing enterprises have also mushroomed, and the processing products of the local leading enterprise Crested Food Co., Ltd. "Crested Ginger" and "Crested Ginger Soup" have been successively rated as "Hubei Famous Brand Products" and "China Famous Selenium Products". "Every year, when The ginger is just listed, the field purchase price is as high as 10 yuan a catty, and the old ginger purchase price is also about 2.5 yuan." Tian Yanfu introduced that under the model of "farmers + large planters + cooperatives + processing enterprises", crested ginger has become a pillar industry for local farmers to increase their income and become rich.
"Ginger Mountain" has become a mountain of wealth
Zhoujiawan Village, Lushui Town, like most places in Laifeng County, has many people and little land, and the per capita cultivated land is only 0.5 mu. Zhang Tingchun, 57 years old this year, was once a poor household in the village, in the past, relying on more than 1 mu of thin land, he could not afford his wife's medical expenses and the tuition fees of his two children, and in 2019, with the help of village cadres, he planted 2.7 mu of ginger and was lifted out of poverty at the end of the year.
"Product processing, ginger quality is fundamental. Previously, because of ginger plague, the company's own core base was only about 200 acres. We've been figuring out ways to do things for the past few years, and now the situation is about to improve. Tian Yanfu said.
The ginger plague that Tian Yanfu said, scientifically known as ginger blight, is called ginger plague by farmers because of its rapid onset, high mortality and no effective means of prevention and control. For many years, ginger blight has occurred widely in Laifeng. If there are residual germs on the cultivated land, it is difficult to eliminate, and if you continue to plant ginger in situ the following year, the yield will be halved, and the serious harvest will be almost extinguished.
Since 2018, the Biopesticide Engineering Research Center of Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences has carried out the construction of ginger detoxification demonstration sites in 4 villages in the county, including Zhuba Village in Xiangfeng Town and Majiaba Village in Dahe Town. Through soil disinfection and biopesticide prevention and control technology, by the harvest season of that year, the yield per mu reached nearly 5,000 catties.
Hu Hongtao, an expert at the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that the cost of prevention and control of crested ginger per mu of land is 1500 yuan, and the cost of biological control will be reduced by nearly half by the third year. According to estimates, the prevention and control effect of ginger blight has reached more than 95%, and the incidence rate has been controlled within 5%.
Tian Maoxin, secretary of the party branch of Zhoujiawan Village, calculated an account, calculated according to the output value of 10,000 yuan per mu, and the next year, jiang farmers could still increase their income by 6,500 yuan in addition to the planting cost of 2,000 yuan and the cost of prevention and control of 1,500 yuan. Compared with rice rotation, the benefits are greatly increased.
The Laifeng County government followed up in time and gave a subsidy of 1,000 yuan to ginger farmers who received soil remediation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Laifeng County actively strives for projects and gives full support to the regroupment of the crested ginger industry. The Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences arranged nearly 100 technical trainings in one go, laying the foundation for the industrial revitalization of Laifeng Rural Revitalization. "Production is guaranteed, and we are ready to do a big job."
Hubei Fengtou Food Co., Ltd. is a leading enterprise in the processing of ginger in Laifeng County. Aiming at market demand, the company has developed 5 varieties of selenium ginger, ginger paste, and confinement ginger this year, and invested millions to build a standardized crested ginger planting base. "Beautiful crested ginger, fiery crested ginger, it is the auspicious gift of the magical phoenix to the Tujia family." Tian Yanfu, general manager of Crested Food Company, couldn't help but hum the long-lost "Song of Crested Ginger", and his eyes were full of longing.
"The market prospects for crested ginger are promising, and enterprises must ensure the supply of processed raw materials to expand production capacity and benefit more farmers." The relevant person in charge of the Laifeng County Agricultural and Rural Bureau said that in the next few years, local enterprises will develop in groups, develop deep processing, extend the industrial chain, further promote the "Laifeng ginger" regional public brand building, make the crested ginger industry bigger and stronger, and let the "Jiangshan" in Laifeng become the "golden mountain" for local farmers to get rid of poverty and get rich.