[Learning in progress] On September 2, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 20th anniversary of Juncao’s foreign aid and the International Cooperation Forum for Sustainable Development.
He said in the congratulatory letter, "I have been concerned about the international cooperation of Juncao technology for a long time."
What is Juncao technology?
Why does Xi Jinping "care for a long time"?
The original brand column of Xinhua News Agency's "Learning in Progress" column "Lectures" will reveal the secrets for you.
On September 2, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 20th Anniversary of Juncao’s Foreign Aid and International Cooperation Forum for Sustainable Development.
He said in the congratulatory letter, "I have been concerned about the international cooperation of Juncao technology for a long time."
What is Juncao technology?
Why does Xi Jinping "care for a long time"?
This is a fungus for windbreak and sand fixation planted on a beach in Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, Fujian Province (photographed by drone on July 25, 2019).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Shanchuan
How did Juncao technology come from?
In the 1980s, my country had introduced cultivation techniques from abroad, and edible fungi became an important industry for poverty alleviation and prosperity in rural areas.
At that time in Fujian Province, farmers consumed a large amount of wood to produce mushrooms, fungus and other edible fungi. The trees that could grow fungi were cut down, and the "fungus forest contradiction" became increasingly prominent.
Can we use grass instead of wood to grow bacteria?
Lin Zhanxi, who is engaged in agricultural and forestry research, began to think about this issue.
In 1983, Lin Zhanxi led a research team using some wild herbs in western Fujian to conduct research.
At that time, the research work was "made from scratch" and faced with numerous difficulties. After unremitting efforts, it finally succeeded in 1986.
Juncao is rich in nutrients. In addition to cultivating edible and medicinal fungi, it can also raise poultry and livestock. More importantly, it directly reduces the amount of wood felled. Only "substituting grass for wood" to cultivate shiitake mushrooms can save tens of millions of trees every year. cubic meter.
Over the years, the research and application of Juncao technology has continued to deepen and expand in the fields of ecological management and Juncao feed, Juncao fungus feed, and Juncao fungus fertilizer development, forming a comprehensive technical system, which has been widely promoted and applied at home and abroad. Significant economic, social and ecological benefits and good international influence.
Xi Jinping pointed out in the congratulatory letter that Juncao technology is a unique technology developed in China by "substituting grass for wood". It has realized comprehensive and efficient utilization of the three major agricultural resources of light, heat and water. The combination of the three major benefits of, society and environment is conducive to ecology, food, and energy security.
Lin Zhanxi is looking at the white fungus cultivated with the dregs of giant fungus.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wei Peiquan
"Minning grass" takes root like this
The connection between Xi Jinping and Juncao still needs to start from Minning's counterpart assistance.
In 1996, the Central Poverty Alleviation and Development Work Conference determined that Fujian would help Ningxia as a counterpart.
Fujian established a leading group to assist Ningxia, and Xi Jinping, then deputy secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, served as the group leader.
At a joint meeting, Juncao Technology was listed as a counterpart poverty alleviation project in Minning, and Xi Jinping personally signed the minutes of the joint meeting.
The task was handed over to the inventor of Juncao technology Lin Zhanxuan, and he immediately led the Juncao technology poverty alleviation expert group to Ningxia to implement the fungus and Juncao seeds.
The natural environment and climatic conditions in Ningxia are quite different from those in Fujian. The cultivation of edible fungi by using the Juncao technology originating in Fujian to "substitute wood with grass" can only start from scratch.
Half a year later, every problem was overcome. The cultivation of mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, bisporus mushrooms and other edible fungi using straws was successful. The average income of the first batch of 27 demonstration households exceeded 2,000 yuan, of which a demonstration household in Xiaochagou Village was 50 square meters. The income of cultivating oyster mushrooms in the rice mushroom house exceeded his income from planting 27 acres of wheat, and the income of demonstration farmers who participated in the production of edible fungi more than doubled that year.
After the successful practice, Xi Jinping made special instructions in the "Report on the Comprehensive Management of the Ecological Environment of Small Watersheds in Ningxia" submitted by Fujian Agricultural University, and clearly stated that "Juncao is the advantage of our province" and required to "strengthen the strengths and avoid weaknesses". Be your own "good"".
Since then, the Juncao Technology Poverty Alleviation Project took root in Ningxia and became an important industry in Minning's counterpart poverty alleviation. A large number of farmers bid farewell to poverty through the development of Juncao production.
The masses made up a jingle for this: "Jun Cao, Jun Cao, Min Ning Cao, Happy Cao, is it better for the Communist Party or socialism."
Because of his outstanding contributions to Juncao technology, Lin Zhanxi won the "National Poverty Alleviation Champion" and the Fujian Provincial Government's first-class merit award. The province held an awards ceremony dedicated to him.
Xi Jinping pointed out at the meeting that Juncao’s advantage is quite prominent throughout the country, and that it must continue to play an important role in helping the poor and getting rich.
With the popularity of the TV series "Mountain and Sea", Juncao, who plays a magical role in poverty alleviation in China, is well-known to everyone.
The prototype of Professor Ling Yinong in "The Situation of Mountains and Seas" is Lin Zhanxi.
On September 9, 2020, in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, Emmanuel Ahimana, the owner of an edible mushroom cultivation workshop, inspects the bag.
Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Cyril Ndegeya)
"Happy Grass" for people in developing countries
After the success of Juncao technology, it attracted the attention of officials from the United Nations Development Program and FAO in China.
In 1994, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of China listed Juncao technology as a technical training project to assist developing countries.
In 1997, Juncao technology was successfully demonstrated in Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands Province.
Since 1997, the Chinese expert group has been rotated several times and still insists on taking root in the local area.
Over the past 20 years, more than 700 farmers have participated in the cultivation of Juncao.
Juncao is affectionately called "Chinese grass" by local people.
At present, the Eastern Highlands Province has listed Juncao and upland rice as the second and third largest industries after coffee for development.
In addition to Eastern Highland Province, Juncao and upland rice planting techniques have also been extended to many local provinces.
In November 2018, on the eve of his state visit to the independent state of Papua New Guinea, Xi Jinping published a signed article in the Papua New Guinea media entitled "Let China and Pacific Island Countries Sail Again".
The article said that 18 years ago, when I was the governor of Fujian Province, China, I promoted the implementation of the Fujian Province’s assistance to the Papua New Guinea East Highlands Province Juncao and Upland Rice Planting Technology Demonstration Project.
I am happy to learn that this project has continued to operate so far, and it has exerted good economic and social benefits, and has become a good story for the development of China-Papua New Guinea relations.
So far, Juncao technology has been promoted to more than 100 countries around the world, and the cooperation closely follows development goals such as poverty eradication, employment promotion, renewable resource utilization, and climate change. It has played an important role in promoting local development and people’s well-being and has been developed. China generally welcomes it.
In Fiji, Juncao technology is hailed as "the new hope of island country agriculture"; in Lesotho, because there is a short time to harvest, farmers call Juncao cultivation of mushrooms as "quick money"; in Rwanda, there are more than 3,500 poor farmers because Participating in the production of Juncao, now the annual income of each household has increased by one to three times.
In this congratulatory letter, Xi Jinping emphasized that China is willing to work with relevant parties to continue to contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so that Juncao technology will become a "happy grass" that benefits people in developing countries. !
(According to Xinhua News Agency, "Xi Jinping in Fujian")