Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs planted in Tengxing village are thriving. [Photo/taixing.gov.cn]
In recent years, Tengxing village in Fenjie town, Taixing, Jiangsu province, has been developing the planting of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs relying on the village collective cooperative.
The village purchases seedlings and invites expert technicians to carry out unified management. After the medicinal herbs mature, the cooperative will contact distributors to help villagers sell them at satisfactory prices.
Yang Junjian, Party secretary of the village, said that the village has signed agreements with relevant parties related to price, planting technology, and order underwriting.
The cultivation of high-quality and effective Chinese medicinal ingredients relies heavily on modern agricultural technology.
As one example, Danshen, or the root of red-rooted salvia, has strict management requirements, and the seeds are not easy to grow. Compounding this problem, villagers in Fengjian town have little relevant planting experience.
"Considering this, in addition to strengthening field management, we also provide nutrients to promote root growth," said Li Meng, deputy director of the rural work office in Fenjie town.
"Last year and this year, planting Danshen will be able to earn 5,000-6,000 yuan ($698-$837) per mu (1 mu=0.07 hectares) of land. We are very satisfied with this, as it brings in more money than rice and wheat," said Yang Junxian, a local villager.