中国·福州——热爱城市从热爱美食开始

On April 27, at the betel-nut taro (Colocasia esculenta) farm in Meilou Village, Changqing Town, Yongtai County, farmers were busy harvesting the taro, sorting out the evenly sized betel-nut taros for weighing, and loading them onto trucks for sale to other regions.

“The taro has a smooth texture and large size. We harvest about 20,000 jin (10,000 kg) a day, and most of them are sold to Guangdong and other regions,” said Wei Buxian, a betel-nut taro farmer. Due to last year’s weather conditions and market prices, he delayed the harvest of his 150 mu of betel-nut taro by using soil mounding techniques to overwinter the crop. This allowed him to stagger the harvest, bringing the taro to market in April. The betel-nut taro currently being harvested typically weighs between 1.5 and 4 kilograms, with an average yield of about 2,000 kilograms per mu. As a result, the total output value has risen by about 20% compared to the previous year.

With abundant sunlight, loose, fertile soil, and easy access to irrigation, Changqing Town offers ideal conditions for growing betel-nut taro, a crop that thrives in moist environments and struggles in drought. Taro cultivation has become a significant source of income for local farmers. Beyond the direct economic benefits to growers, it also creates job opportunities and boosts the incomes of nearby villagers through activities such as planting, maintenance, and harvesting.

In recent years, Changqing Town has capitalized on comprehensive land consolidation efforts to thoroughly assess local resources and the needs of its residents. Building on this, the town has strategically planned its agricultural planting structure, focusing on a development model aimed at boosting local prosperity through industrial growth. This has led to the establishment of an industrial development pattern of “One Village, One Product.” Through large-scale land transfer and intensive management, the town has focused on developing specialized agricultural products such as betel-nut taro, peanuts, rice, oil tea, and plums. Additionally, the town has applied for dedicated funds to upgrade agricultural infrastructure and build modern agricultural processing facilities. These efforts are aimed at creating a fully integrated “planting-processing-marketing” industrial chain, fostering new drivers of rural revitalization. (Fuzhou Daily Reporter: Ye Xintong)