CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, August 13, 2019 | 7

years onYEARS ON NINGXIA

Editor's note: As the People’s Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country’s development and where they are today. Picking the profits from a sweet little earner

Known for their medicinal qualities, goji products are expanding into growing local and global markets

By HU DONGMEI and goji products, the company is also WANG XIAODONG in Yinchuan improving production methods. Pesticide residue has not been In the past, Wang Qiang had to detected in their products for sev­ work around the clock when the goji eral years, he said. berries ripened in summer — as he Zeng Shaofeng, deputy general and two colleagues patrolled 150 hec­ manager of Ningxia Runde Group, tares of plantations in search of pos­ said the company has been produc­ sible pest infestations. ing organic goji berries for several “Goji berries are prone to pests, years with no pesticide residue. and we had to be careful to minimize Zhou Jiaqi, president of the Zhong­ the loss,” Wang, a pest management ning Goji Industrial Association, said technician at Ningxia Runde Group, new technologies were being studied said. “But it was impossible for us to to improve the quality of goji. find all the trees with pests in a gar­ “With big data technologies, den so big.” farmers will be guided in goji pro­ Last summer, four cameras were duction, including finding the best installed in the goji, or wolfberry, time to plant, removing pests and plantations in Zhongning county, Left: Workers pick goji berries at a plantation in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. FENG KAIHUA / XINHUA Right: Researchers develop when to harvest,” he said. Ningxia Hui autonomous region, beverages made of goji at a Bairuiyuan laboratory in Yinchuan, Ningxia. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY “Production and sale of goji will which eased the workload for Wang not be based on experience, but on and his colleagues. data.” The cameras, positioned 10 meters reached 180,000 metric tons in 2017, Area: 66,400 square kilometers Annual per capita disposable above the ground, can monitor every with the total value exceeding 15 bil­ income of urban residents 31,895 Challenges ahead Unit: yuan ($4,528) tree within 100 meters. Real­time lion yuan ($2.1 billion). In some areas 29,472 Despite the rapid advances in 35000 27,153 2018 footage is shared with scientists from of Ningxia, revenue from goji pro­ 2018 6.9 25,186 2017 goji production, there are still chal­ 30000 23,285 2016 the Ningxia Academy of Agricultural duction accounted for more than 60 Yinchuan 2014 2015 lenges ahead for the industry. and Forestry Sciences so they can percent of farmers’ incomes, the cen­ 25000 The Ningxia Goji Industry Devel­ 20000 identify signs of pests and diseases ter said. opment Center believes a compro­ Ningxia 15000 and suggest solutions. Goji producers have developed 10000 mise has not been reached between

Wang just needs to log onto an app more than 100 food, medical and cos­ 5000 improving the quality of the prod­ on his mobile phone to see the metic products based on the berry, 0 uct and ensuring the healthy results. He can also upload images of including beverages, wines, sauces, 2013 6.5 growth of the industry. suspected plant diseases to the app vegetable oil and tea, according to Annual per capita disposable The use of chemical pesticides and get feedback from the academy’s the center. income of rural residents 11,708 remains the primary pest control Unit: yuan ($1,662) scientists within three days. By the end of last year, the number 10,738 2018 method, and more efforts should be 9,919 9,852 12000 2017 Zhang Rong, director of the Plant of enterprises certified for goji export 8,410 2015 2016 made to promote the use of biologi­ Protection Institute of the academy, in Ningxia reached 48, including 31 Population GDP 10000 2014 cal pesticides. Unit: million said the high­tech pest monitoring that have gained organic certifica­ Unit: billion yuan 8000 The center wants authorities to system has been deployed at 50 tion from other countries. 2007 6.1 6000 subsidize farmers who use biologi­ major goji farms and is used by 88 The products were exported to 4000 cal pesticides. They should also technicians. more than 40 countries and regions, 37.1 2000 put in place policies to encourage The system has also resulted in a with dried goji berry accounting for ($5.27 billion) 0 the research, development and reduction in the use of pesticides and 85 percent of total exports, the center 2018 production of biological pesti­ improved the quality of the goji berry said. 25.9 cides. through detection and control of 2013 Zhang Rong, from the Ningxia 2002 5.7 pests, Zhang said. Healthy growth 9.19 Academy of Agricultural and For­ “Goji is prone to more than 30 “Goji has traditionally been regard­ 2007 estry Sciences, said they had pro­ types of pests, including eight that ed as a good health supplement by 3.77 moted the use of biological can cause devastating damage,” she Chinese people. Almost everywhere 2002 pesticides for this year’s harvest. said. “Conventionally, chemical pes­ we can see people carrying a glass of But obstacles remained, such as ticides are used to control outbreaks, water boiled with dried goji berries,” 1998 5.4 2.45 the higher cost of biological pesti­ resulting in a high risk of excessive said Jia Dengqi, head of the Zhong­ 1998 cides and the fact that they take pesticide residue.” ning International Goji Trade Center, effect more slowly. In recent years, the academy has in Zhongning county. Source: Government of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region MUKESH MOHANAN / CHINA DAILY A major obstacle to the develop­ intensified efforts in the research, “Demand for goji has been rising ment of the industry in Ningxia, development and promotion of envi­ and we have seen increasing num­ Gansu provinces, being branded “Most of my buyers are tourists wine,” he said. “But this method of and the rest of the country, is the ronmentally friendly biological bers of buyers from overseas includ­ misleadingly in the domestic mar­ from outside Zhongning, who buy goji consumption may not appeal lack of a national standard for pes­ means — including biological pesti­ ing Japan, the United States and ket as produced in Zhongning. goji as a gift for their relatives or to younger people.” ticide residue levels in dried goji, cides — to meet the demand for safer Europe.” “Compared with goji produced in friends,” he said. To attract younger customers, which also hampers export of the and higher quality goji products Zhongning is where goji originat­ other areas, goji produced in Zhong­ Hao Xiangfeng, chairman of Bai­ the company has developed new berries, Zhang said. from consumers, she said. ed, and berries produced in the area ning contains less sugar, so it is light­ ruiyuan, a leading producer of goji in products in recent years, including The Ministry of Agriculture and reputedly have the best healthcare er and tastes slightly bitter,” Jia said. Yinchuan, said their market research freshly preserved goji, so people Rural Affairs is formulating a Home of the berry benefits, such as boosting energy and Zhang Rong, who sells dried goji showed there was a potentially huge can eat it as a snack, and tea made national standard that will set resi­ Goji, used as a healthcare supple­ protecting eyesight. berries in the center, said he gets at youth market for goji. of goji leaves, he said. due limits for commonly used pes­ ment and an ingredient in traditional This has resulted in goji from least 80 yuan per kilogram, about “Traditionally, elderly people use With rising demand from con­ ticides for goji berries. But time is Chinese medicine, has traditionally other areas, such as Qinghai and 20 yuan higher than last year. goji as a supplement in porridge or sumers for high quality and safe needed for the standard to be final­ been grown in Ningxia, the major ized, Zhang said. production area of the berry in China. Jia, head of the goji trade center, In recent years, with a booming said although China is a major pro­ health products market driven by the ducer of the berry, many domestic rising number of middle class and producers lack the ability to devel­ young people, Ningxia’s goji industry op higher­end products, such as has been upgrading operations with nutritional extracts, that would sophisticated management and bring more profit. planting methods, and the develop­ “As far as I know, many domestic ment of new products. institutes are intensifying research Goji plantations in Ningxia and development of new products reached 66,700 hectares in 2017 — sourced from goji that cater to the about 360 times the size in 1949, market,” he said. when the People’s Republic of China “I believe domestic producers was founded. will make great progress in proc­ Ningxia now accounts for 40 per­ essing goji within the next three to cent of the total area of goji produc­ five years.” tion in China, according to Ningxia Goji Industry Development Center. Contact the writers at Total production of dried goji An aerial view of workers picking goji berries at a plantation in Wuzhong, NIngxia. FENG KAIHUA / XINHUA [email protected]

“The area is very dry and short of Chateau Yuanshi, a winery at the rainfall, which makes it difficult for foot of Helan Mountain, said their ‘Father Mountain’ recovers from mining past plants to survive,” he said. “We are stone chateau was built on the site working to grow plants that suit the of a deserted quarry and is open to conditions in this area.” tourists. By HU DONGMEI and A total of 169 sites, including 110 ment and ecology of Helan Moun­ Zhang Li, deputy inspector at the Ci Jiansong, a forestry official at “In recent years, trees have been WANG XIAODONG in Yinchuan mines, were put on a list for environ­ tain, with plans to eliminate major regional department of ecology and Xixia district, Yinchuan city, planted in this area and more tour­ mental rehabilitation. problems in three years in order to environment, said despite the great which is at the foot of Helan ists are visiting,” she said. “We were Towering more than 3,500 All of them were shut down and safeguard ecological security in efforts made so far, formidable envi­ Mountain, said many of the sites born and grew up here. We love this meters, Helan Mountain is revered ecological restoration completed by Northwest China, the department ronmental challenges remained in damaged by mining are being place. We want it to become more as the “Father Mountain” by locals the end of last year, according to the said. the Helan Mountain area. transformed. beautiful.” in the Ningxia Hui autonomous Ningxia Regional Department of One of the sites, which was desert­ Cao Dongxu, Party chief of Hao­ region. It serves as a natural barrier Ecology and Environment. ed about 10 years ago after 20 years’ yuan village, Yinchuan, said most of to the vast desert to its west and pro­ The regional government also mining, has been turned into a lei­ the villagers used to rely on raising tects the fertile land in the region. proposed last year to protect all of sure park for locals after landscap­ livestock for a living, but in recent However, exploitation in recent Helan Mountain, including areas ing. The mine went 20 meters years they have started to turn to years of the mountain’s rich natural outside the boundary of the nation­ underground. businesses such as winemaking and resources — including coal, iron and al nature reserve. The park, about 33 hectares in running hotels. magnesium — has severely dam­ In May, a plan was put in place to size, is in a suburb of Yinchuan and Ci said the district had also stepped aged the natural environment and deal with 45 sites near the reserve will open to the public before the up afforestation efforts in recent ecology in the area, which prompted that had been seriously affecting the end of next year, Ci said. years, including encouraging resi­ local governments to take measures environment and ecology of the “The park is much better than dents to grow trees in designated to remedy and restore sites. mountain. By the end of July, 11 coal other parks in the city,” a retiree sur­ sites. “We are considering encourag­ The battle started in early 2017, mines had been shut down and their named Guo said. “It is bigger and we ing residents to adopt trees so they when the regional government permits revoked. The other mines can erect tents here to rest.” can take care of them so they grow inspected all sites touched by were ordered to comply with envi­ Another 16 mine sites in the dis­ well. They can also harvest the fruit humans in the Helan Mountain ronmental standards, the depart­ trict will be restored for various pur­ from the trees,” he said. “We hope all National Nature Reserve, including ment said. Ranger Tian Yuchun feeds blue sheep in the Helan Mountain poses, including parks, tourism and people can participate in afforestation cemeteries, mining sites, tourism Ningxia will continue its efforts to National Nature Reserve in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in tree plantations, Ci said. as the benefit of a good environment facilities and abandoned mines. remedy and restore the environ­ March. FENG KAIHUA / XINHUA Yuan Yuan, general manager of is shared by all.”