The develop of rural is facing the biggest opportunity, because government fully support the farmer cooperative, but how is it works? Accompanied by the process of urbanization, what should the rural do to revival? Focusing on those question we concerned about, in recently, Shanxi Yongji Pu Han rural community represent this questions by action. It gained attention from the research on rural development experts. We sent the correspondent reporter, Yu, to conduct a field visit.
Shanxi Yongji is the Integrated Farmer Cooperative Organization that over two townships, cover 43 villages, own 3865 members, have over 40 professional cooperative and it combine the economic cooperation and public services at the same time, it has been developed over 15 years. Someone said Pu Han Community is the only place that really mean to' Comprehensive Agricultural '.
Despite Pu Han became popular, people and thing in here are still introverted moderate. When the others cooperative facing the development bottlenecks and the government not in fully support, but Po Han Community is still stay strong.
In this 15 years, they grow from seed into tree.
Yongji is the place located in Shanxi Province of southwest corner, and it can look through Shaanxi Province beside of the Yellow River. 'Pu'zhou, 'Han' Yang are located in county southwest, so it name as 'Pu Han' . Started off from country along to country road, it takes about 20 minutes to be there, the place where created the Pu Han Township villages, and it is the hard-quarter of Pu Han.
The community directer, Zheng Bing who married her husband who are from Zhaizi villages many years ago. In 1998, Zheng Bing' s couple who run the agricultural shop founded the Zhaizi technology center, it provided the agricultural technology services to the farmers fro free. After that, Bing organized group of feminine for dancing, and then to carry out plenty of cultural activities for woman, in 2001 it developed as a woman's cultural activity center. Somehow in 2003, because of the male member keep increasing, Bing changed the woman' s cultural activity center into Farmer' s Association, finally in 2004, she registered as a ' Yongzhou City Puzhou Town Farmers Association' at Civil Affairs Bureau.
In 2007, because of the [ Law of the People ' s Republic of China on Farmers' Professional Cooperatives ], the association changed into cooperative. Till now, the community is still based on the Yongzhou City Puzhou Town Fruit Association. Started from that day, the cooperative can finally can extend their features into the business era. At the beginning, both of those 8 cooperative organization all failed on second year of founded, absorb the experience of failed, the community started to invited the youngsters to join, and it was the based of professional cooperative. After the running the business with different kind of cooperative, finally it firmed with 43 of professional cooperative, 18 of they registered, it became the Organic Agriculture Association of Pu Han community. Besides of cooperative's era, the community included the Handicraft cooperatives, urban and rural interactive centers, youth organic farms.
After they build up the mature operating module, the cooperative is continuous improving and rich the public services quality. According to the Community Financial Accounting Center Officer, Zhang Jinglong mentioned, every year of produce benefits would defined as 4 parts: First it would be saving for future develop, and the rest would be 60% pay back for members , 20% for the accumulation of provident fund, another 20% would be community chest for develop the public services.
Because of Bing, the Pu Han community can grow up from agricultural shop into the Large - scale integrated farmer cooperative organization from mainland in 15 years developed.
Serve all the needs of members
To all their need, the Po Han community tried their best to enrich member' s need. Not only about the need on economic, but also the public services. According to Bing, cooperative need to provides invisible help besides of economic services.The ultimate pursuit of value and goal is about better life and better future.
In economic way, community can provides unified buy and sell services. In community, it have founded 5 agricultural shops, the farmers not only about discount of crops, but also can credit and share the bonus by the trading volume. Zhang Jinglong, who run the agricultural shop before said' We directly purchase the goods from dealer, it can cut down the 200 RMB cost in the middle of purchase one tones. '
In agricultural shop, the reporter found dozens of boxes instant noodle, those of it were physical rebate. In Pu Han, all dividends are define as physical rebate, through this process comply the unified procurement of lifestyle products to decrease the cost of individual purchase cost. Farmers can through the sell the goods from the community, and base on the trading volume to enrich the physical rebate. ' The member can get what they need by credit. ' said Zhang.
The community can also help out some of the members to sell the agricultural crops and handicrafts, and the interaction of urban and rural become the key point. Those goods will handle by cooperative, it take the response to acquisitive settlement, and resell to the dealers or customers. It is good for dealers because it drop down the cost; It is also good for farmer because it become the tools to connect with dealers. The community can gain profits by the difference of prices, and the money will use on the public services. In last years, the community reached 6000000 RMB profits. Zhang think it can reach 20000000 RMB in this year. Besides of trading business, the community can provides the full services on production processes, it showed how important of community was. The community will sent the professional staffs, to supervise the process of use the medicate and fertilizer and they will provide the technology training. Beside of that, the Youth organic farm will responsible for pre-trial, it can help the members stick in the right track.
Because of the capital requirements from members, organic cooperative founded the Financial Services Department. When all of the members for cooperative became the share holds, they can enjoy pure credit mutual financial service about maximum 30000 RMB of amount. According to the responsible person, Wang Bian e, currently issued more than 700 loans, the total amount over 10000000.
Despite the community covered very comprehensive, but there is farmer something they need to take response, it about follow the technical regulation. If the framer joined the community, he/she can reach the technology, financial, buy and sell support, and he/she can depends on the trading volume to enrich the physical rebate.
Besides of the those different kind of services apartment mentioned, it have the independent financial accounting center. ' Every unit will do the unified accounting, all business settlement will implement by accounting center.
Back to nature, be organic
In the head of village, there is a small building, the restaurant and tea house of the community are there. There is a cafe which have chairs, a few of tables and magazine for members to take a rest on the second floor of tea house. When you get into the cafe, there is the a large balcony with fruits on tables, people can enjoy the sun bathing and beautiful side-view of Pu Han on it. From this kind of views can show the passion of Pu Han' s people.
Every time when Zheng Bing having the talk, she must be mentioned about how much passion she has, and why she don' t like the urban. She mentioned' In the rural, I can get inspiration anytime, I feel exciting everyday, if I feel not well, I just need to take some break on balcony or take a ride around the community then I can set myself free. ' They stay close to the nature and reveal the true sentiments of it. That's why they can build up the faith on keep making organic products. Those faith is not about making huge money and focus on economic considerations, it all about the love for the community.
Every cooperative in the community will requested to use 1 acres of land for organic planting by unified organic cooperative. Nowadays, there are over 2000 members of the community doing the organic planting, it showed over 70% of member are doing organic agricultural. Organic Associates Officer Li Jinrong introduced that in the conversion period, they already got 3000 acres of lands for organic planting, there are over 10000 acres of lands are planning to become organic landfills. The foreign experts proved that there are beneficial inserts, it makes Bing felt proud and glad because it mean they done well.
Pu Han is not work for fame or grab money from urban. The community haven' t do any domestic organic certification, the price they sell is almost the same price as the normal agricultural products. For them, the only reason they do the organic agricultural is about they love the land and they want to protect it. In point of view from Bing, the main reason of agricultural products in price fluctuation situation because of they use chemical fertilizers and pesticides unreasonable and not responsible to customers. So started from 2008, every members of community need to do land conversion. Nowadays, the kitchen waste from village and breeding fertilizer become the hot items for organic agricultural farmers. Besides of that, vinegar and pepper water become the new tools. Somehow many of the tools of planting are discovered, like the sprinkle millet on land to avoid bird to peck or stick the poplar on land and attract inserts then burned.
Lo Feng, business representative of mecilla Ltd stayed at Pu Han. This company do the plant acquisition of organic cotton, in the top period, the total of plant area were over 1000 acres, they became the biggest client of organic products. Because mecilla Ltd have the same faith of product organic products, they choose to come Pu Han. In point of view of Feng, he think Pu Han community is the place doing actually for organic. ' Both of us do the organic agricultural not just for money, and not even work for special offer from government. What we aims is about transfer the soil and balance the cost and profits at the same time. We hired the the experts from Swiss Institute of Eco - Market to visited us, they proved by The European Union. They said Pu Han is doing well to maintain the Biological diversity welly, we are good to develop the organic agricultural. ' He think the way Pu Han are doing can be long last, because every members in Pu Han can plant in diversity ways and production is ensure norms of outputs.
Revive the lost of humanity in rural
There are 2 level small building in the village which is the handicrafts cooperatives headquarter. Those old spinning, sewing machine and the old scissors can be reborn nowadays because of the anabolism of handicrafts. The old home textile is hitting back and sell to Hong Kong. The head of the department Niu Shuqin interviewed by the reporters' Those old skills of handicrafts had interrupted for decades, many of the middle age woman still don' t know how to do it. But something has changed , started from 2004, the staffs from cooperative keep asking for advice from the elderly and it helped this industry to keep survive. Nowadays, many of the woman who joined the cooperative knew how to spinning, compare to the past, there are only few of the woman knew this kind of skills.
Before the founded of cooperative, no one will interested in traditional handicrafts. But when it founded, woman in community found the interests on doing the handicrafts, and the same time it become the part of income. Niu used help out her husband on running the restaurant, but someday when she had a chance to get in touch with the handicrafts which made her fell into. She started to turn to be full-time handicrafts workers, although the income is the way lower than used be by far. ' we are not work for money, we work for interested. ' We can see some of the young woman age about 20 who rather to work at Pu Han than the urban. The reason is because here can work with less pressure and keep learn new things. The members from community are keeping the visit for elderly every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it aims to cultural heritage.
Wang aiqin, the head of the farming home service department, who response for pension, education, wedding etiquette etc. Every time when the members have wedding, they will provide the live band, banquet and waiter intermediary services. The services of community not only about cut down the cost for farmers, but also about to renew the good old days, some valuable tradition. ' We want to bring the traditional weeding etiquette to modern 21 country. '
The sole duty staff from association will handle a village, they will clean up the village one per week, both of them are voluntary lobar. In the very beginning, some of the people think this action is nonsense. ' In the beginning, three of us went to pick up some garbage bags, and then they laughed on us and thought we were stupid. But now, most of them will be conscious to clean up themselves, they felt embarrassed not to do it. In Pu Han, it seems that we can find the tradition of watch help in here.
In the holiday period, the local teenagers will be united by the community staffs to do some activity like hiking, visit field and floods, through those it may let the teenagers know more about their hometown, manager their life and build up the basic skills of agricultural. They will also take care of elderly. For the elderly who can't disable to move, they will response to coordination some of middle age woman who well in take care the elderly to services them one by one; To the rest of the elderly who lack of care but can able to move, they will provided a home which is empty with enough space to gather the elderly, there will be staff to take care of life diet and organized some entertainment. All the cost will be response by their children , but the community won't grab any profits from that.
The outcome of gradually restored of the care to society, traditional skills and etiquette, because of the self-management, collaborate with each other welly and not with external force. In Pu Han community , they treasure to each other's value because of the close collaboration, the reporter can faintly felt the humanity in rural has been back.
The government created a relaxed environment for Po Han community
During the community interview, the reporter tried to content with Yongji City and Puzhou Town government departments but failed. Because of the freedom given by government, Zheng jilong felt so thankful, he told the reporter' When we organize so big event, we must let the town officer know. They never interrupt us , we feel so good of it. The thing Zheng feel so proud is about Po Han never receive any money for government.
Zheng thanks to government for create the relaxed environment for Po Han in the different stages, especially for some of the high-level officers who gave so advice before. Despite of that, Pu Han are still seldom deal with the government a lots. In the beginning of the Pu Han, there were about 6 cooperative want the state subsidy, which not the faith of Zheng so they parted away.
Besides of Zhaizi village by railway, there is Houjiazhuang village. From the research, over 80% of farmers on there are members of Po Han community. The reporter interviewed the village party secretary, village committee directer, Hou Xinchao. The community staffs bring him to Hou' s home for interview. In Houjiazhuang, most of the officer they don't have official office, they usually work at home.
