Shizhu water shield in Chongqing: green wave in boundless water shield field

The picture shows that the water shield has had a bumper harvest, and the local people are smiling.

In late spring and early summer, it is time for the harvest of water shield. Walking into Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County of Chongqing, which is located in the hinterland of the three Gorges Reservoir area, the beauty of "boundless water shield pan-green wave" is fascinating. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the water shield fields are like spreading green blankets, and there are slight blue waves in the wind. Vegetable farmers are busy picking, tourists keep taking pictures, the joy of harvest and leisure gathered in Tujia mountain countryside, flowing in people's hearts.

Water shield, which enjoys the reputation of "ginseng in water", is a kind of aquatic plant, which is suitable to grow and breed in acidic soil between 1200 m and 1600 m above sea level. It has very high requirements for natural conditions such as water quality, climate, soil and sunlight. At present, the total planting area of water shield in Shizhu County is 13000 mu, there are more than 4100 water shield farmers, and the annual sales income of water shield exceeds 100 million yuan. Shizhu water shield also obtained pollution-free products and origin identification.

"all along, we have given full play to the comprehensive advantages of the concentration of agricultural comprehensive development funds, project integration, integration of three industries, and full-process development, and vigorously promoted the development of the water shield industry, not only cultivated a number of leading enterprises, but also successfully registered a number of well-known brands of green food, and will also build a research and development center and an intensive processing base for water shield." Mou Xianhai, director of the Committee of Agriculture of Shizhu County, said.

"the main market for water shield is abroad." On the basis of in-depth investigation, Shizhu County has formed a consensus: to build the brand of Shizhu water shield and comprehensively improve the income of water shield farmers, we must go to the international market. For this reason, the county regards the direct export of water shield as an important link of comprehensive agricultural development to promote industrial development, and actively helps water shield enterprises to apply for direct export rights. In 2006, Shizhu water shield was directly qualified for export, rewriting the history of "changing clothes and getting married" in the export of water shield, and the output value of each ton of fresh water shield increased by more than 1000 yuan.

The vegetable field of Ulva is a paddy field, can we take the way of combining planting and cultivation? The agricultural committee of the county selected some water shield fields for demonstration, and signed an agreement with farmers on water shield field fish culture. Through the experiment, raising fish in the water shield field can not only raise 100 to 120 kilograms of commercial fish per mu per year, but also increase the yield of water shield by more than 200 kilograms and increase the pectin content of water shield by more than 5%.

In order to expand and strengthen the water shield industry, since 2014, Shizhu County has made use of the national agricultural comprehensive development to support the policy innovation experimental area project of economic development in ethnic minority areas, invested a total of 20.05 million yuan to carry out environmental improvement of the water shield base, improved the production environment, guaranteed water sources, and consolidated the planting scale.

Under the strong impetus of the comprehensive agricultural development, the leading role of the leading enterprises in the water shield industry is fully revealed. The price of Shizhu water shield rose from an average of 8 yuan per kilogram to 11 yuan in 2015. Due to the good market, the picking period of water shield last year was also extended by nearly one month than before, and the picking rate was improved.

"with the development and growth of the industry, what we are thinking about now is how to extend the industrial chain and do a good job in in-depth development." According to Mou Xianhai, at present, foods such as water shield vinegar and daily chemicals such as water shield handmade soap have been developed, and an enterprise in Shizhu County has developed 27 kinds of products in three categories, such as water shield mask, beverage, and beauty capsules. at present, 14 patented technologies have been declared.

The combination of agriculture and tourism with water shield as the medium also shows a broad prospect. In the Huangshui area, the main producing area of Shizhu water shield, there are many scenic spots, such as "Chongqing's most beautiful forest", Dafengbao primeval forest, "natural gallery" Youcao River and so on. In recent years, Shizhu County has held a water shield cultural festival to let tourists experience the fun of picking, cook water shield delicacies, improve the output value of water shield, and promote economic development.

During the 13th five-year Plan period, Shizhu County plans to integrate 500 million yuan of funds, build a production demonstration base of 30,000 mu of high-quality and high-yield water shield, produce 50,000 tons of high-quality organic fresh Ulva, develop the whole process of intensive processing of water shield, improve the marketing network, accelerate the development of the whole industrial chain, versatility and high added value of water shield, create a unique leisure tourism belt of water shield wetland in China, and promote the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary production. Drive 5000 farmers in the project area to increase their income and become rich.

Tips

How to eat: there are many ways to eat water shield. The traditional eating methods are cold water shield, water shield egg soup, water shield meatball soup, water shield meat soup, water shield stewed bean curd, water shield roasted bamboo shoots and so on. In recent years, Shizhu local enterprises have successfully developed and launched water shield health drinks, water shield powder, water shield jelly and other ready-to-eat foods.

How to get there: Shizhu County has convenient transportation and can be reached by train from Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Beijing and other places. When you get to Shizhu County, you can get to the water shield base in 30 minutes by turning to the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway.