Grass-Planting Industry Develops in Haiyuan

This west travel note, written by Our Staff Reporters Huang Caizhong and Hu Jihong, is about how people of Wangshang Village in Haiyuan County have developed grass-planting industry on a large scale in the past two years.

The rapid growth of lucerne cultivation industry has brought handsome incomes for local farmers and boosted the development of animal husbandry. Additionally, under a letter of intent signed with the Tianjin Haobang Co., the county will have a lucerne processing factory. Following is the full text of the report:

Li Yongshou, a 28-year-old young man of Hui nationality, works in another place for half the time in a year. He has got married for four to five years, yet the family is still living in an adobe house. Compared with other farmer households in the village, Li's family financial condition is poor. When talking about his own circumstances, Li shows great admiration for those who have become well-off through growing lucernes, saying, "My family will also plant its 20 mu (15 mu = one hectare) of land to lucernes this year."

The village Li Yongshou is living in is called Wangshang, it is an administrative village in Jiashang Township of Haiyuan County in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The village has a vast stretch of plain land, hence its name "Shang", making it the best place in the hilly Haiyuan County.

Located in an arid and semi-arid area, the village suffers drought in nine years out of ten. Haiyuan farmers live at the mercy of the elements generation after generation. Over the past few years, thanks to the support of the State and the autonomous region, Haiyuan people have managed to have enough to eat and clothe themselves. However, their poverty remains. The farmers are longing for money to buy color televisions, washing machines, telephones and even cars.

It is by no means easy for Haiyuan, which practically has no industrial foundation, to achieve the goal of making its people prosperous and the county strong. In the opinion of clear-headed Wang Hongjie, secretary of the county Party committee, the development of the western region must be based on local reality. For Haiyuan to develop, it must base itself on its own rich resource-land. The central government requires that mountain areas of Ningxia should return farmland to forests and grassland, this fits in well with the reality of Haiyuan. The county authorities have decided: If we cannot grow grain, we change to grow grass, developing the grass industry of scale.

Lucerne, a perennial plant which can both protect ecology and help increase income has become the first choice variety for the grass industry of Haiyuan people.

Over the past two years since 1998, the lucerne planted on a large scale in the county has reached 200,000 mu, plus the 100,000-odd mu planted individually by farmers, the county now has 260,000 mu of lucerne reserved bed area. This year the county will further plant 100,000-150,000 mu, striving to increase lucerne reserved bed area to 400,000 mu. On this basis the county authorities have decided that in the next five years, the county's lucerne planted area will develop to 1 million mu, or two mu per capita; at the same time, the county will expand aquaculture in a big way, the growing of one mu of lucerne will give an impetus to the raising of one cow and five sheep.

The rapid development of lucerne cultivation has brought about a handsome income for the farmers and has boosted the development of animal husbandry.

Old man Wang Yonghai of Wangshang Village said that when he began planting lucerne in 1996, his fellow townsmen still did not know the advantages of lucerne. "it's out of my expectation, one-mu lucerne is cut twice a year, with total output exceeding 6,000 kg, if it is sold at a price of 0.4 yuan per kg, then we can earn around 1,200 yuan," he said.

Lucernes which enjoy a very brisk market are all sold to the rabbit warrens of Yinchuan. A few days ago, a boss from Shanghai wanted to place orders for Lucernes which, however, were out of stock. The man went away disappointed.

In Wangshang Village, one-third of the households have grown lucerne with the total area extending to around 3,200 mu and income reaching 4 million yuan. Bai Wengui who had ceased planting grain for two years has planted his 32 mu of land all to lucernes. Integrating the cultivation of lucernes and aquaculture, he raises five cattle and 10 rabbits. The cattle can get fat within a short time and can be delivered to the market for sales in two-three months on the average. Last year he delivered over 60 cattle to the market which earned him a net income of nearly 20,000 yuan

Boosted by the development of grass-planting industry, most farmer households of Wangshang Village have raised small-tail sheep, last year, 1,200 sheep were sent to the market for sales in return for a net income of nearly 200,000 yuan; the village also raised 420 head of cows and 310 of which were butchered , earning it a net income of well over 500,000 yuan. Many households of the village have been well-off through planting grass and raising animals.

Although grass-planting industry is still in the initial stage in Haiyuan, it has nevertheless presented a broad prospect for development. Haiyuan County has to take out over 1 million yuan from its finance each year which is used to provide grass-planting households with free seeds and technical guidance.

Grass-planting industry has taken a decisive step. At the end of last year, the Tianjin Haobang Company signed a letter of intent with Haiyuan County, under which the company will invest 30 million yuan in Haiyuan to build a lucerne processing factory for refining emulsion in short supply on the international market. Wang Hongjie said, "This will be Haiyuan's first presentable factory."

The more than two years of grass-planting practice carried out by Haiyuan is, without doubt, of prominent demonstration significance to the closed and backward Xihaigu. In the development of the western regions, Xihaigu has a lot to do. Opportunities are waving to it.

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