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Zhishan Village, Jingqiao Town, Lishui District
The 300 acres of the Caozhuang Selenium-Rich Ecological Park
Seaweed with selenium harvested! Squash harvested!
Entering Caozhuang Selenium-rich Ecological Park, the standardized planted melon trellises are neatly arranged and the plants are thriving. Long, plump and slender selenium-rich cucumbers are hanging on the vines, and the workers are skillfully carrying out the picking operation. As baskets of fresh vegetables are loaded onto trucks for shipment, this selenium-rich land is transforming its ecological advantages into tangible economic benefits.
In March this year
Zhi Mountain Village relies on
Caozhuang Selenium-Rich Ecological Park
Build the largest planting area in Lishui
Oil skin cucumber single base unit
“Order-based agriculture has been implemented in the village, and an early purchase cooperation has been reached with enterprises in Shanghai. This has solved the problem of production and sales at the source, allowing the villagers to feel secure both when planting and when selling.” Li Qijun, the secretary of the Zhishan Village Party Committee, explained that in late June, when the picking season began, the daily harvest volume at the base could reach 50,000 kilograms.
When talking about the original intention of introducing the oil-seeded winter melon, Li Qijun did some calculations: With the favorable planting benefits, the estimated per-acre income of the base is nearly 10,000 yuan; in terms of social benefits, the project has already absorbed 70 villagers to achieve employment “right at their doorstep”. “One can earn money right at home and still take care of the family,” said villager Li Rongqi frankly.
In recent years, Zhishan Village has adopted the model of the Party branch leading the establishment of cooperatives to revitalize idle land. It has collaborated with Professor Pan Genxing’s team from Nanjing Agricultural University to develop industries such as selenium-enriched rice and specialty fruits using carbon-based circular ecological technology. It has also integrated accommodation, red-themed study tours, and other business models. The Caozhuang Selenium-Enriched Ecological Park has developed into a comprehensive ecological park integrating sightseeing agriculture, leisure vacations, specialty dining, fruit and vegetable picking, and red tourism. It receives over 300,000 visitors annually. Zhishan Village has also been successively selected as a pilot village for ecological and circular agriculture in Jiangsu Province, a characteristic rural area in Jiangsu Province, and one of the top ten cases of “Common Prosperity Hundred Village Practice” in Jiangsu Province.
“We will build on the existing foundation of contract farming and continue to expand the scale of planting high-quality selenium-rich agricultural products,” Li Qijun said. We will also continuously improve the facilities for picking experiences and agricultural-themed study tours, and encourage more villagers to participate in the industrial dividends, thereby connecting a larger scale of common prosperity industries.
