Chapter 118 Hetao Hinterland Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia Province? Guo Yang didn't react for a , someone soon brought several maps, some for the whole country and some for Wuyuan County. Director Chen pointed out the location of Wuyuan County on the map. "Wuyuan County is located outside the Yellow River bend, in the heart of the Hetao area, at the foot of the Yinshan Mountains. It has 230 million mu of arable land and is the main grain-producing area of the Bameng League, mainly planting wheat, corn and sunflowers. In recent years, the local area has been using excessive amounts of Yellow River water for irrigation, causing serious salinization of the land. Half of the per capita land area is damaged by salinity and alkali, resulting in extremely low land output, which seriously affects the family income of local farmers. Wuyuan County has been encouraging farmers to grow grass, providing subsidies to farmers who grow grass, introducing grass pellet production lines, and signing order contracts with processing companies. There are more than 50 contiguous grass-planting demonstration fields of more than 50 mu, and the planting area has reached 1 mu. But the power of the county alone is limited, and the amount of abandoned land continues to increase year by year. Isn’t Mr. Guo a person who likes to chew on hard bones? I think Wuyuan County should suit your taste.” Guo Yang stared at the map for a while, his brain working rapidly.
This is indeed a tough nut to crack! The area of saline-alkali land exceeds 200 million mu! But obviously, as the main commercial grain production base in the autonomous region, the existing 100 million mu of saline-alkali arable land cannot be given to Jiahe. As for the more than 100 million mu of saline-alkali wasteland, Guo Yang looked at the geographical map of Wuyuan County carefully again and felt it was a difficult problem. "Director Chen, the saline-alkali wasteland in Wuyuan is not completely continuous! It should be saline-alkali wasteland scattered in various villages and towns, which was gradually formed due to excessive salinity and abandonment of land by villagers. Surrounding the saline-alkali wasteland are low-yield saline-alkali lands cultivated by farmers. So it seems that there are more than 100 million mu of saline-alkali wasteland, but this village has 2000 mu left fallow, and another village has 1000 mu. Wait till it's improved. The villagers are about to jump out again, and the local government has an opportunity to take back the land. In the end, Golden Harvest may end up with nothing! This bone is too hard, it might break my teeth!" Guo Yang shook his head repeatedly. A million acres is indeed very tempting, but the manpower, material and financial resources required by the enterprise are enormous. The Ministry of Agriculture wants to drive local industrial development and lead local people out of poverty and achieve a well-off life. But for businesses, there are too many unknown risks. Guo Yang naturally took the opportunity to put forward conditions. Director Chen said: "There will definitely be policy support, and the local government will also provide strong cooperation." Guo Yang asked tentatively: "What kind of operation model will be adopted? Will the farmers' land be transferred to Jiahe?" Director Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Too many farmers are involved." Guo Yang pursed his lips. The land does not belong to Jiahe, so why should Jiahe get involved in this muddy water? He said seriously: "Only when the land is transferred in a centralized manner can it be convenient for unified operation and management, and only then can we adopt a large-scale, intensive and modernized agricultural operation model."
At this time, Minister Lin knocked on the table. “Saline-alkali land improvement is a national strategy, and the ministry also plans to create a number of typical project areas for saline-alkali land improvement. Wuyuan County is a typical example. It has serious land problems such as salinization and desertification, and it is also a commercial grain base in the autonomous region. It is correct to insist on centralized land transfer. But it does not have to be handed over to Jiahe. Local governments can also adopt centralized management through transfer by large-scale growers or village collective cooperatives. The role that Golden Harvest plays in this is more of a leading role. After all, most farmers have little knowledge of saline-alkali land improvement technology, and are extremely unfamiliar with Alfalfa No. 1. " Guo Yang nodded in approval. Step by step, leader. The difficulty was reduced immediately. Guo Yang then asked: "Project funding and policy support?" Minister Lin said: “The ministry can only coordinate with the water, transportation, housing, planning, land, power supply and other departments to integrate project funds. The specific policy of special funds for saline-alkali land improvement is still under study.” Guo Yang pursed his lips, meaning that he had to raise the money himself! “How is the rent for saline wasteland calculated?” Minister Lin raised his eyebrows and roughly understood Jiahe's concerns. "The first five years of rent will be free, or covered by local finances." "As for the contract issue, we have the ministry's endorsement, so we don't have to worry about it in the short term at least." Guo Yang thought that normally it would take just five years to turn saline-alkali land into fertile farmland. Based on Alfalfa’s experience, the reserve of Alfalfa No. 1 seeds is sufficient, and it only takes 1-2 years to improve the farmland into fertile land. It will take another 2-3 years to recover the investment, and the rest of the time will be net profit. After all, only a few contracts can last for 30 years. Guo Yang was inclined to agree. With upper-level endorsement, The biggest problem is solved. The two sides reached a preliminary agreement. Led by the Ministry, Jiahe’s professional team and local governments have negotiated on specific investment agreements many times. The Wuyuan County Government was stunned by the sudden surprise. Let the negotiation of the investment agreement go smoothly. The county has basically provided all the policy support it can.
Finally, a plan to improve more than 200 million mu of saline-alkali land in Wuyuan County was revealed. It caused an uproar in the county! …… The western suburbs of Wuyuan County. "All I can see is a vast expanse of white, with not a single blade of grass growing on the alkaline land. All my hard work year after year has been in vain, with large tracts of land left barren." “If you plant crops in saline-alkali land, you will not get any harvest nine out of ten years.” This is the most common scene in Wuyuan County in recent years. Walking in the fields, all you see is barrenness, with saline-alkali land and desertification coexisting. Guo Yang seemed to remember what happened two years ago. Shuangqiao Village was also so desolate at that time, the sky and the earth were all white, as if covered with snow. But within two years, the saline-alkali land suddenly turned into a gold nugget. The huge sales of 1 acres of Alfalfa No. made him even more excited. The desire for high-grade seeds and natural energy is getting stronger and stronger. For various reasons, Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry has taken a new step in the management of saline-alkali land. Through negotiations, Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and Wuyuan County signed an investment agreement for the management and transformation of saline-alkali land. The project will be constructed in three phases. The planned transformation area exceeds one million acres! The first phase mainly targets the saline-alkali and desertified land in the western suburbs of the county and further away, covering an area of more than 50 mu. The project survey team is composed of Muhe and Wuyuan County Agricultural Technology Center, with the Agricultural University and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences providing technical assistance. Qiu Zhendong, the director of Wuyuan County Agricultural Technology Extension Center, is a native Hetao man. He has a kind appearance and a generous personality. But faced with the vast saline-alkali land, we are often at a loss. "The saline soil here has a salt content of more than , making it difficult for crops to germinate. We can only grow sunflowers, and the yield is only 30% to 70% of the normal level. Moreover, due to the continuous use of chemical fertilizers, farmers only planted the land but did not maintain it, which led to soil compaction and hardening, resulting in poor farming performance; Year after year, the plow has been turning the soil with a large cart, resulting in a thick bottom layer, poor ventilation and water permeability in the soil, making it difficult for roots to take root, and crops are prone to lodging. Guo Yang smiled and said, "It sounds like the situation is better than Shuangqiao Village." Qiu Zhendong is not optimistic. "Salt-alkali is like scabies on a beautiful girl. It is time to eradicate it completely." Xiang Tianshan then said: “The salt types in the saline-alkali land of Wuyuan County are relatively complex, and various salts are accumulated in the same soil layer. For example, the bare land in front of you with no grass growing on it is a sodium-alkali saline land that is impermeable and has serious waterlogging after rainfall.” After wandering around the surrounding areas for a long time, I basically got a feel for the surrounding situation. "Lao Xiang, you are an expert in this area. Do you have a draft?" Xiang Tianshan smiled and said, "Just prescribe the right medicine for the disease."
"The saline-alkali types are mainly mixtures, so the improvement measures are mainly comprehensive measures." "Land preparation and improvement of irrigation and drainage systems are still necessary conditions. Other things include conventional deep tillage, application of straw, mixing with sand, etc." Qiu Zhendong asked doubtfully: "Isn't it too simple? There is no need to apply organic fertilizer, desulfurized gypsum or phosphogypsum?" "No, Alfalfa No. 1 is enough." "Oh." "Is Alfalfa No. 1 really that magical?" "It will not let you down." Guo Yang saw a forest not far ahead, with bursts of fragrance wafting from it. "That is?" "That's the orchard. The apples and pears should be ripe these days. Let's go, I'll take you to taste some!" Guo Yang was quite surprised to see a piece of green land in this land where salinity and desertification coexist. After a while, several people walked into the orchard. In the orchard, there are all kinds of fruit trees, including pears, peaches, apricots, plums, and sand dates. There are many varieties, and there are more than a dozen varieties of pears. And under your feet is the fixed quicksand. Qiu Zhendong picked a few pears from the tree and handed them to everyone. The skin was yellow-green and the shape was not very pretty. Guo Yang took a bite and found the meat to be tender, crisp and juicy. not bad. While asking vaguely: "Is it okay to just pick and eat it like this?" "It's okay. I used to come here 20 years ago, when it was still quicksand." "20 years ago? Quicksand?" The attention of the entourage was drawn over. At this time, the sound of leaves shaking came from the woods, and an old man with a hunched back walked out. "I was wondering who was so bold, it turns out it's you, Dongzi." "Uncle Hua, I was inspecting here today and felt thirsty, so I picked a few pears to eat. They still taste the same!" The old man called Uncle Hua looked at them and asked, "What are you investigating?" "The saline-alkali land improvement project. The village has already been promoting it. These people are the CEOs of Jiahe Group." "The low-yield farmland and saline-alkali wasteland in the village will mainly be transferred to them." Yin Shaohua nodded repeatedly and picked a few good fruits from the tree.
"That's great. There's plenty of fruit. Eat as much as you want." Guo Yang asked curiously: "Uncle Hua, was this orchard really quicksand 20 years ago?" Qiu Zhendong took over the conversation with a smile. "When Uncle Hua graduated from the Forestry School 20 years ago, no one was managing this sandy land, so Uncle Hua took the initiative to contract it and plant trees. At that time, there was no water, no electricity, and no roads. There was only a small mud house that was half collapsed. He borrowed a level from his classmates, measured the elevation, looked at the surface topography, checked the underground structure, and finally discovered that this was a sand-covered area. To plant trees, the sand dunes had to be leveled first. Without money to hire a bulldozer, Uncle Hua and his family relied on a wheelbarrow and a shoulder pole to carry sand to level the land. Since they had no money to buy saplings, they went to a nearby forest farm, picked up the unqualified two-year and one-year-old cuttings discarded by the forest farm, soaked them for a week, and planted them in their own sandy land. When there was no water, we carried water to water the trees. It took us a year to dig a 10-mile-long canal to bring in water.” "Uncle Hua, I'm not wrong, am I? You always say these words every time you drink, and I know them by heart." Yin Shaohua raised his head like a rooster and said with a hum. "You pass." "But you haven't been here for a long time, and the canal we dug has long dried up. Now we rely on wells for watering." Guo Yang exclaimed: "I admire you! I admire you! This orchard and forest farm are quite large, they must make a lot of money every year!" "There are more than 500 mu of forest land and more than 200 mu of orchard. My son is the main person taking care of it now. I usually go to the woods to look at the trees and the children, and I feel happy." When talking about income, Yin Shaohua smiled. "The income is not bad. The orchard can be sold for 40,000 to 50,000 yuan a year." Guo Yang said: "Uncle Hua, are you interested in buying a few hundred acres of land? The county has many supporting policies for this saline-alkali land improvement project, including water extraction equipment, grass seeds, and even direct subsidies.” Looking at Uncle Hua's thoughtful expression, Qiu Zhendong knew that he was really moved. Uncle Hua's success in his career and his spirit of perseverance and hard work have profoundly influenced the next generation. His son and even his daughter's family have the idea of investing in the land. (End of this chapter)