Family farms boost rural vitalization in Shaanxi's Zhidan county

Rural vitalization is an integral part of national rejuvenation.

China has shifted the focus of its agricultural development to comprehensive rural vitalization. Zhidan county, Yan'an city, Shaanxi province, has been pursuing a strategy known as the Four Roads initiative, which involves "policy support, farmland, financial resources, and pioneering farmers," in order to stimulate the establishment and growth of family farms. The efforts have resulted in the creation of a continuously improving modern agricultural management system that promotes the high-quality development of rural areas, prosperity among farmers and rural harmony.

Vast fields of sorghum cultivated by the Xinlyu (Fresh Green) Family Farm undulate in the breeze across the plateau that Fengpo village, Baoan township, Zhidan county, sits on in the summer and fall.

"We had a good harvest last October," person in charge Bai Facai noted with optimism recently. "We grew sorghum on more than 8 ha of land and obtained more than 7,500 kg of the crop per ha."

The family farm leases more than 31.3 ha of land from local farmers at present and benefits from Zhidan’s Four Roads initiative. It includes a residential area, a cattle ranch, and a baijiu [a type of Chinese hard alcohol made from cereal crops] distillery in addition to its sorghum production base and generates around 1 million yuan (US$156,900) of revenue per year at present.

“We currently produce about 20 tons of baijiu with the soft sorghum varieties that we grow,” Bai explained. “By-products, such as vinasse and sorghum straw, are used to feed our 30 head of Simmental cattle.”

The agriculturalist also mentioned that he has been looking forward to expanding the farm after achieving a bumper harvest the year before and is aiming to achieve more than 2 million yuan (US$313,800) of revenue and that this will help the people who work with him become more prosperous.

Xinlyu is an example of a new type of Chinese agricultural business entity that is managed by a family, engages in intensive production on an average of around 10 ha of land, and cooperates with local farmers in an efficient manner. Dedicated to serving exemplary family farms, Zhidan’s government has been vigorously promoting high-quality, high-yield plant varieties and standardized production techniques and has issued 370 million yuan (US$58.05 million) of agricultural loans and subsidized more than 12 million yuan (US$1.88 million) of interest since it began promoting the organizations in April 2020 as of fall 2021.

“A total of 2,447 family farms have been established and have developed in Zhidan since it became Shaanxi’s family farm demonstration county thus far,” Cao Zhishan, head of the Zhidan County Bureau of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, stated. “The farms generate an average of 170,000 yuan (US$26,673) of revenue per year, and an integrated development model involving ‘crop cultivation, animal husbandry, processing, production, supply, and marketing’ has gradually taken shape. The farms are at the forefront of rural vitalization and the advancement of prosperity through industry, help people steadily increase their incomes, and promote efficient, green circular agricultural development.”

Zhidan is committed to supporting the high-quality development of its family farms by solving financing problems, promoting the transfer of land rights, revitalizing underutilized land, and training demonstration farmers to be village officials and village officials to be demonstration farmers over the next few years in order to improve its overall development level and promote the aggregation of various parties’ resources into family farming operations that also engage in related industries and function as a new force powering rural vitalization.