[Rural Revitalization] The sugarcane planted during the Yongzheng period survived to the present?
Exploring the legend of "hundred-year sugarcane" in Songxi, Fujian
[Explanation] In the light rain, sugarcane is growing well. In Wanqian Village, Zhengdun Town, Songxi County, Fujian Province, there is a piece of "hundred-year sugarcane" that has been guarded by villagers for generations. According to historical records, "hundred-year sugarcane" was planted in Yongzheng, Qing Dynasty. It was planted by the Wei family in Wanqian Village for four years (1727) and has a history of nearly 300 years.
What is amazing is that the mother cane has grown miraculously for nearly three hundred years and is still as luxuriantly as before.
The unique agricultural advantage of the "hundred-year-old sugarcane" has also allowed the local area to embark on a rural revitalization road that promotes agriculture through science and technology and villages through tourism.
A few days ago, the reporter visited Wanqian Village, Songxi County for field interviews.
[Explanation] Ordinary sugarcane has a ratoon life span of only 5 to 6 years. The existing female parent "100-year sugarcane" in Wanqian Village has a ratoon life span of 295 years so far, which is currently the longest ratoon life of sugarcane in the world.
The genetic code has not yet been deciphered.
[Explanation] Using sugar cane to boil sugar has been one of the main livelihoods of local villagers for a long time. However, because the price of cane sugar boiled by the indigenous method is not high and can barely survive, most of the villagers switch to rice, tea or go out to work. .
In order to let the "baby" left by our ancestors create more economic value, in 2012, the Wanqian Village Party Branch took the lead in the establishment of the Centennial Sugarcane Cooperative, and implemented the business model of collective ownership by the village and the participation of the whole people in the local area. The "three reforms" in which resources become assets, capital becomes equity, and farmers become shareholders.
[Concurrent] Zhou Dongxu, First Secretary of Wanqian Village
We also set up this poverty alleviation workshop using this cooperative as a platform, and then mobilized all the villagers in our village to join this cooperative.
It has become an important carrier for our entire Wanqian villagers to get rich together.
[Explanation] Villager Wang Shiyou was one of the first members to join the cooperative and is currently responsible for production management in the cooperative.
He also witnessed the thriving development of the "hundred-year sugarcane" industry in the past ten years.
[Concurrent] Wang Shiyou, a villager in Wanqian Village
Now, our income from this "hundred-year sugarcane" piece has greatly changed. It has doubled by more than ten times. It should be that I planted a little more than ten acres by myself. (Joining the cooperative) is not just sharing dividends, but also sharing sugar. This is a whole year. Tourists visit a lot of people. For our village, the (income) will definitely increase a little bit.
[Explanation] In 2018, Wanqian Village applied for two provincial-level scientific and technological commissioners to be stationed in the village. The local area also cooperated in-depth with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences to tap the value of "100-year-old sugarcane".
In addition, under the technical guidance of relevant scientific research institutions and agricultural departments at all levels, the planting area of "Hundred Years Cane" is also expanding.
Today, the "hundred-year sugarcane" industry has developed from the initial rough processing of brown sugar to the fine processing developed for different effects. From a single product to multiple product lines in parallel, snacks, wine, functional beverages and other products have been developed.
[Concurrent] Zhou Zhiqiang, Deputy Director of the Office of the Coordinating Leading Group of Sugarcane Production, Education and Research, Songxi County
From the first production to the second production, we have brown sugar processing, pastry processing, some cosmetics, and some wine, and now there are some medicines, research and development here, this tertiary industry is mainly for health tourism. There is also a revitalized township, including a research base.
Wanqian Village should be a rather dilapidated village from the original one. Now it has become a model village of "one village, one product" in our country, and a model village of rural revitalization in Fujian Province. Therefore, the overall improvement is very important. Fast.
The income of the entire villagers should have increased significantly.
[Explanation] The reporter learned that in 2016, "Hundred Years of Sugarcane" was awarded the Chinese Agricultural Cultural Heritage.
At present, Wanqian Village has planted nearly 400 acres of "hundred-year-old sugarcane", and the cooperative's sugar production volume is nearly 80,000 jin.
The growth of the industry has also allowed the people to live a more prosperous life.
[Concurrent] Zhou Dongxu, First Secretary of Wanqian Village, Zhengdun Town, Songxi County
The life of the people in Wanqian Village is as high as our "hundred-year-old sugarcane". On our sweet life and the road of sweet-to-riches, it is getting wider and wider. Then, we will develop a variety of "hundred-year sugarcane" products. Products, continue to improve its added value.
Reporter Wu Shengwei reports from Nanping, Fujian
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]