Heyuan Dongyuan Zhangxi She Ethnic Township: Roses give birth to a romantic economy, new rice varieties help increase income and get rich

As the only ethnic minority township in Heyuan City and the only She ethnic township in Guangdong Province, Zhangxi She Ethnic Township in Dongyuan County has developed modern agricultural industries in recent years. On the premise of consolidating and developing traditional industries such as chestnut, oil tea, Chinese medicinal materials, and blueberry planting, it has expanded and strengthened the characteristic rose industry and perennial rice industry, continued to promote and expand planting throughout the township, continuously improved the value of the industry, and turned it into a beautiful village with "red flowers and green leaves" complementing each other.

Planting roses makes this place a popular village

In the Qinyi Rose Garden in Riguang Village, Zhangxi She Ethnic Township, the administrator Zhang Hanping is checking the growth of roses.

In 2019, with the help of the Management Committee of Dengta Basin Agricultural High-tech Zone in Heyuan City, Riguang Village developed the rose planting industry in the mode of "company + village collective + farmers". Zhang Hanping, who is over 50 years old, applied for a job in the plantation with a monthly salary of 2,500 yuan. Not only did he find a new job at his doorstep, but he also personally felt the changes in the village.

After the rose planting industry was launched in Riguang Village, many tourists rushed to the local area every spring to enjoy the flowers and check in, and it became a veritable Internet celebrity village. Zhang Xuezhi, secretary of the Party branch of Riguang Village, introduced that in addition to the appreciation function, roses also have edible and medicinal value. In 2022, the Shenzhen counterpart assistance to Heyuan Command vigorously supported the development of the rose industry, invested 4 million yuan in assistance funds to expand the scale of rose planting, completed the expansion of 330 acres of roses in Riguang Village, and built a rose research and study activity center, a small processing plant, etc.

In order to better operate and develop the rose industry, Riguang Village also cooperated with Guangdong Greentown Industrial Co., Ltd. to jointly establish Dongyuan Yingxiang Rose Industry Development Co., Ltd. The company rents the villagers' land, and the rent is paid at 1,000 yuan per acre per year. It is expected that this will increase the income of the village collective by about 200,000 yuan each year.

Last year, Zhangxi She Ethnic Township rolled out the rose industry throughout the township, completed the expansion of 100 acres of roses in Zhonglian Village, and built a processing plant with a processing capacity of 10 tons per day. In recent years, the township has increased the collective income of the village by nearly 800,000 yuan and the income of surrounding farmers by about 1.5 million yuan through rose planting.

New rice varieties broaden the road to increasing income and getting rich

In addition to planting roses, last year, Zhangxi She Ethnic Township also cooperated with Dongyuan County Zhenxing Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Huada Yungu Technology Co., Ltd. to build a high-standard perennial rice modern agricultural planting demonstration site with a contiguous area of 500 mu in Riguang Village, and has now completed three harvests.

Compared with other rice varieties, perennial rice can be harvested continuously for three or four years without tillage after planting once, that is, from the second season onwards, there is no need to buy seeds, raise seedlings, plow fields and transplant production links, only field management is required.

Zhang Tao, secretary of the Party Committee of Zhangxi Township, told reporters that the local planting of 500 mu of perennial rice can bring 300,000 yuan in rental income and 200,000 yuan in labor income to the villagers of Riguang Village every year. At the same time, the construction of the base will bring about 100,000 yuan in additional dividend income to the village collective of Riguang Village. In 2024, Zhangxi Township will make full use of the experience of the perennial rice planting base in Riguang Village to further expand the planting in the township, and strive to expand the planting to 2,000 mu in 2024.