Young entrepreneur brings prosperity to village through corn planting in SW China’s Yunnan

Xiong Jie works with villagers in a corn field in Mannalong, a village of the Dai ethnic group in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Photo/Shandong TV Qilu Channel)

A man has turned small corn into a big business through corn planting and e-commerce, generating wealth for villagers living in Mannalong, a village of the Dai ethnic group in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

Xiong Jie and his wife Liu Xing became e-commerce entrepreneurs after graduating from China Agricultural University in Beijing, selling high-quality agricultural products.

In 2018, Xiong decided to change career by leveraging his expertise in agriculture, a decision that received unqualified support from his wife.

Xiong set his eyes on a variety of waxy corn that features tiny cobs in Xishuangbanna. “I learned about corn culture in university and was fairly familiar with corn planting. The variety began to gain popularity in 2018 and 2019, so I wanted to get into the corn industry,” the man said.

According to Xiong, the waxy corn with tiny cobs is grown in all four seasons in Xishuangbanna, which means that fresh waxy corn can be supplied throughout the year. Furthermore, the variety tastes better and sweeter because Xishuangbanna enjoys long sunshine hours and a high diurnal temperature difference.

Xiong signed a contract with the Mannalong village committee to use 341 mu (about 22.73 hectares) of land to plant the variety of corn with tiny cobs.

Xiong and his wife then bought agricultural machines, such as tractors, pumps, and drones, hired nine Dai people in Mannalong village and trained them how to use the machines. In addition, Xiong has adopted a water and fertilizer integrated drip irrigation system and uses drones to spray insecticide. The application of new technologies has reduced the labor intensity of the workers’ tasks.

After a long period of trial and error, the yield per mu of Xiong’s corn reached about 800 kg in the rainy season and around 1,200 kg in the dry season, 50 percent to 80 percent higher than that of other farmers in the surrounding areas.

Xiong explained that targeted management, including the rational use of fertilizer and pesticides and protecting corn plants from rats, has been the key to his success.

The waxy corn with tiny cobs is grown in all four seasons in Xishuangbanna, which means that fresh waxy corn can be supplied throughout the year. (Photo/Shandong TV Qilu Channel)

Bo Ji, a 50-year-old Dai villager who rented out his land to Xiong, works at his corn planting base.

“In the past, I often found temporary jobs outside the village. Now, I can work near home and take care of my family,” Bo said excitedly, adding that he earns 3,500 yuan ($521.39) per month at the planting base.

To ensure that customers can receive fresh corn, Xiong worked with a local company that has a processing plant near his planting base and is responsible for the sales of his corn. At the plant, selected corn is vacuum-sealed and sterilized after being heated at a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius for 21 minutes. The entire process from harvesting to delivering packaged corn takes less than six hours. Vacuum-sealed corn has a shelf life of six months.

“We team up with the company for contract farming and ensure a stable purchasing price for corn approaching 4 yuan per kg. Our corn is in high demand,” said Xiong.

He explained that a stable purchasing price enhances the planting base’s ability to fend off risks of price fluctuation.

Xiong doesn’t need to worry about the sales of his corn. The company began selling corn on e-commerce platform Pinduoduo in October 2021 after opening a store on it. The store’s sales volume of corn exceeded 110,000 yuan in the first month and approached one million yuan in the second month. To date, the company has seven processing plants, which process about 30 tons of corn each day.

“We have seen a robust sales increase after cooperating with Pinduoduo, which has boosted sales of the processing plant, allowed the planting base to receive more orders, incentivized farmers to plant corn, and driven the development of the corn industry,” Xiong explained.

The success of the modern agricultural philosophy that integrates e-commerce, leading companies, planting bases, village committees and farmers has attracted an increasing number of people who had worked outside Xishuangbanna to return to their hometowns and devote themselves to rural revitalization.