Under-forest cultivation: Chinese farmers'' new frontier
DATE:2015-06-24 SOURCE:Xinhua News Agency
FUZHOU, June 23 (Xinhua) -- In artificial forests, the glossy ganoderma, an elegant -- but tonic -- fungus that symbolizes longevity and good luck, is a rare sight.
However, Wang Jiwen managed to introduce the ganoderma into a fir forest in Lumian Village of Wuping, a mountain county in southeast China''s Fujian Province. It is now flourishing, sprouting out of the ground like mushrooms.
"Forest-cultivated ganoderma sells for three or four times more than greenhouse cultivated," said Wang.P More and more forest farmers are looking to explore alternatives to selling felled trees.
As a native of Wuping, Wang has witnessed the implementation of measures to reform the collective-forest rights system, pioneered in 2001 under the guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping, then governor of Fujian.
Starting with changes to the rights of households to arable land, collective-owned forests were largely untapped until the late 1990s.
"Everyone owned collective property in deed but no one cared, and deforestation was hard to stop," said Deng Suiming, then vice chief of Wuping. "So we decided to let villagers divide collective forests equally among themselves and distributed certificates."
The initiative was rolled out across the whole country, contracting 180 million hectares of collective forests to 500 million farmers.
"I got 17 hectares. I thought the forests belonged to me and I had the right to protect them," recalled Li Guilin, 67, a farmer from Jiewen Village, when remembering Dec. 30, 2001, the day he was granted the first forest right certificate in China.
"Once farmers became individual forest-owners," said Deng. "They took good care of their forests and sought returns, especially short-term returns."
Here lies the rub. Farmers own two kinds of forests -- ecological and economical. Trees on the former are not allowed to be felled; the latter, can be cut, but this must be within a certain quota and after a required growth period.
The government compensates farmers for preserving ecological forests at a yearly rate of about 250 yuan a hectare; a mere tenth of the profits produced by growing and cutting fir trees.
"The compensation for ecological forests is too low, and the required growth period for cutting planted trees is too long,"said Qiu Shanhui, vice chief of Wuping. "The best choice is to use the forests for new fields to till."
In recent years, Wuping, one of the first 20 national demonstration bases, has been exploring innovative ways of developing under-forest economy, attempting to help boost the use of China''s forest land, which is twice the size of its arable land.
Planting is one of the major forms of under-forest economy, for the shady and humid environment is ideal for cultivating Chinese medicinal herbs such as windpipe trachea and sarcandra glabra, most of which are still grown in the wild.
On a rented 5-hectare hillside in Pannihu, each wild tree is bound along the lower trunk by several white bands containing various stalks similar to orchids.
"They''re the dendrobium officinate, very expensive," said Feng Kaihong, employee of the Xinmaoyuan company. "Growing on trees greatly increases their medicinal value, and market prices."
Meanwhile, more and more Wuping farmers are choosing to raise animals as chickens, ducks, sheep, deer and frogs in their forests, among them fly bees.
Zhong Liangsheng started a major beekeeping business five years ago. "Forests cover nearly 80 percent of this county and flowers blossom everywhere all the time," he said. "I''m sure we can produce the best honey in China."
Zhong recruited more than 200 people, including 150 disabled farmers, to his beekeeping cooperative. "We offer technology, credit and protective pricing to our disabled members," said Zhong. "They can easily earn 20,000 to 80,000 yuan a year."
Although enjoying "unexpected" fast growth, Zhong is far from satisfied. At present, he only has 20,000 hives, one thirtieth of the county''s potentiality.
Zhong has also been trying to further monetize the apiculture industry through tourism.
"Tourists are getting more and more interested in bee photography and honey gathering," said Zhong, adding that 35 people had adopted hives.
Forest tourism has a lot of potentials.
"Farmers provide tourists services, such as lodging and food,"said Qiu. "They also sell local specialties."
Nestled in the well-known Liangye Mountain, Yunzai used to be one of the poorest villages in Wuping.
Nowadays, tourists flock to admire the natural woodland, grand waterfalls, and to breathe in the fresh air.
"Our younger generation used to be migrant workers, now they are returning home," said Qiu Guanglin, one of the villagers. "If we can easily get rich by working at home, why leave?"