A Little Plant with Big Stories
“We must give top priority to the development of the agricultural industry in our rural revitalization drive, extend the whole industrial chain and nurture new types of agricultural businesses so that farmers can expand channels for income increase,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) held in early March in Beijing.
Lu Yusheng, an NPC deputy and head of Xi’an Camellia Oil Cooperative in Yongtai County, Fujian Province, told China Today that he was encouraged by these words.
Democracy That Works
Lu Yusheng, an entrepreneurial farmer, has served as deputy to both the 13th and 14th NPC.
Performing his duties as a national lawmaker, Lu has written research reports with more than 100,000 Chinese characters. The reports mainly focused on the development of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. His 50-plus proposals covered a wide range of topics, such as accelerating the development of agricultural industrialization, attracting talent to the countryside, improving IT infrastructure in rural areas, supporting agriculture with favorable financial policies, and promoting rural revitalization via industrial planning. These proposals have all received feedback from competent government departments, serving as testimony to the practice of China’s whole-process people’s democracy.
“The whole process people’s democracy in China is reflected in people’s participation in political and social matters,” Lu said. His proposal this year still focuses on rural revitalization, which specifically calls for high-quality development of the camellia oleifera industry, strengthening the agricultural industrial chain, and the participation of the private sector in pursuing this national strategy.
“Rural revitalization is a systematic and long-lasting great project. We should make agriculture a promising industry, farming a rewarding career, and rural areas a harmonious and prosperous place to live in,” he said.
He mentioned that Xi Jinping, when he was a local government official in Fuzhou, visited Yongtai County 14 times, and gave many instructions on promoting its economic and social development. Over the past 30 years, local people have explored a new path to green development and common prosperity by putting stress on rural revitalization, all-for-one tourism, and ecological protection.
The Path to Sustainable Agriculture
In 2006, at the invitation of the Yongtai County government, Yu visited Xi’an Village to see if there were any business opportunities. He learned that individuals could sign a contract with local government and lease the township’s collective forest farms located in Xi’an Village for business operation. Based on his intensive research, he bet on the camellia oleifera industry — planting the woody edible oil tree in the mountains and building a factory in the county to extract oil from the seeds.
“The plant is truly a treasure,” Lu said. The camellia oil can be used in medicine, and the trees are fire-proof, making them ideal for wildfire prevention. In addition, the seeds can be processed into edible oil. By-products produced in the process can be made into soap, facial masks, and essential oils, and the residue can be processed into organic fertilizer. In this way, while generating zero harm to the environment, camelia oleifera planting is integrated into the industrial chain that covers the production of skin care products, and biopharmaceutical products.
Lu then leased 670 hectares of barren mountains and hired local villagers to reclaim the land to plant camellia oleifera. In just five years, these trees were laden with fruits.
Lu then established the Xi’an Camellia Oil Cooperative in Yongtai County to conduct intensive cultivation and management of camellia oleifera planting. Villagers will get income according to the proportion of their shares in the cooperative, which they gain by pooling in their money or land in the cooperative. Even those villagers who have no share can benefit and get paid when they work for the cooperative. Lu said, “I will provide seedlings and teach the know-how to villagers for free, provide guarantees for their loan applications for free, promise them the purchase of plant seeds, and provide them with oil extraction equipment.” More than 100 local farmers have joined the cooperative, and the small plant has grown into a large industry.
A Boon to All
To enable all villagers to participate in and benefit from the achievements of rural revitalization and realize common prosperity, Lu soon took another initiative: he donated half of the 207 hectares of his camellia farm to villagers in Xi’an Village in late 2021, so that every villager got a share. Then, he and the village collective economic cooperative jointly established Fuzhou Fuxianshan Agricultural and Forestry Development Co., Ltd. for further development of the rural revitalization industry.
“This has put the camellia farm in the name of every villager and makes villagers the real owner. Through the setup of the cooperative’s shareholding system, villagers can have a clear picture of how many shares they hold in the collective business, just like checking their bank deposits and corresponding interests,” Lu told China Today.
According to him, the per capita net income of residents in Xi’an Village reached RMB 18,200 in 2022, an increase of over RMB 8,000 from that of a decade ago.
A Whole-Industry-Chain Approach
After donating half of his camellia farm, Lu was inspired with a new idea: involving urbanites in the agricultural business. Lu said that camellia oil is a high-end edible oil product targeting middle- and high-end consumer groups. He tailor-made a sales package targeting the group. Nearby city residents can pay a subscription fee of RMB 10,000 per year to subscribe 50 kg of the camellia oil, together with complimentary camellia-oil derivative products worth RMB 5,000. Moreover, he installed cameras in the farm so that these urban subscribers can check on the growth of the plants at any time they want via a mobile app.
Throughout these years, Lu has been thinking about how to extend the agricultural industrial chain, cultivate and develop new rural industries and new forms of business, create more job opportunities, and enable the farmers to enjoy a greater share of profits. “The integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries in rural areas is the path we are determined to follow,” he said.
To this end, he put forward the concept of a “car trunk” economy. If the camellia oil buyers visit Xi’an Village once a year, they might also buy some chicken, duck, and fresh vegetables, and return home with their trunk filled with agricultural products.
Thanks to Lu’s efforts, various cooperatives have been established, specializing in a wide range of farming business including camellia oil production, herbal medicine planting, bee keeping, sheep raising, and plum growing. Factories for camellia oil extracting and herbal medicine processing were also opened, which has increased the added value of local agricultural business.
“In developing rural industries, local conditions are a deciding factor. Priority should be given to the development of local special agricultural products,” Lu said. It is necessary to cultivate a number of leading enterprises, involve small farmers in the development of the agricultural industry, integrate planting, research and development, processing and sales, improve the added value of agricultural products, increase farmers’ income, and create agricultural products with local geographical indications.
“We are building Xi’an Village into a featured town known for its camellia oil tourism,” Lu said. “We plan to build the camellia farm into a must-visit site, and the former village cinema into a camellia-theme museum where tourists can learn about the development history of this plant, and establish an oil pressing workshop where visitors can have a hand-on experience in making camellia oil.
Since Lu came to start his business in the village in 2006, he has witnessed how the local villagers shook off poverty and embarked on the road of rural revitalization. At present, Xi’an villagers have drawn a blueprint themselves for a sustainable future with the camellia oleifera industry and the booming industrial chain.
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