Changgou Town has been transformed into the largest planting base in southwestern Shandong and tomatoes have become "rich fruits".

Tomato alias tomato, old Jining people also like to call it "foreign persimmon." This kind of red, festive vegetables taste delicious, rich in nutrition, deeply loved by the common people. Now, with the spread of greenhouse cultivation techniques, they appear on the table almost all year round. But you know what? In Zhonghan Village, Changgou Town, Rencheng District, tomatoes have been cultivated for decades. In recent years, with the support of the town party committee and government, the mode of "cooperative + farmer" has given full play to the scale benefit. Changgou Town has established the largest tomato planting base in southwest Shandong, making this vegetable planted for decades become the "cash cow" and "rich fruit" of the villagers of China and South Korea.

An annual output of more than 20,000 catties in a greenhouse, farmers taste sweet

On the morning of 9 th, the reporter came to Haofeng Agricultural Cooperative located in Zhonghan Village, Changgou Town. Entering the cooperative gate, I saw a large vegetable greenhouse neatly arranged, quite imposing. Although the cold wind blew outside, it was warm inside the greenhouse like early summer. As soon as he pushed open the wooden door of the greenhouse, a wave of heat came on his face. Tomatoes with vigorous growth tried to grow up along the built rattan frame, and attractive red fruits hung all over the branches. Han Guangmin, a farmer who contracted the greenhouse, was busy pruning plants with his wife. He was seen holding a pile of tomato seedlings and said: "Now the temperature rises, tomato seedlings grow too fast, send out a lot of new branches, affecting ventilation, so they must be removed in time, otherwise it will affect the growth of fruits." Brother Han, who has been planting tomatoes for 8 years, can now be called half an expert.

Brother Han told reporters that China and South Korea Village has decades of tomato planting history. Many ordinary people in the village make a living by planting tomatoes, but most of them are retail farmers, busy with their own. Three years ago, there was an agricultural cooperative in the village. Brother Han resolutely joined in and contracted two greenhouses in the tomato planting base of the cooperative. "My greenhouse is 100 meters long from east to west, and the actual area is nearly 3 acres. The area that can be used for planting is about one and a half acres. From October of the first year to June of the second year, tomatoes can grow in the greenhouse for 8 months in a row. Roughly calculated, one greenhouse can produce more than 20,000 catties of tomatoes a year, planting two greenhouses, and the total gross profit is about 100,000 yuan. Due to the temperature this winter, tomato growth has been affected to a certain extent, but fortunately the overall price of vegetables is relatively high, especially the wholesale price of tomatoes has remained above 3 yuan per catty, so to a certain extent, it has made up for some of the losses." Today, Brother Han and his wife put their energy into the vegetable shed all day long. In addition to eating and sleeping, they spend most of the day working in the shed. "We are just ordinary farmers who earn hundreds of thousands of yuan a year by their own labor. Not only do I not have to worry about food and clothing, but I can also provide for two children to go to school. I am already very satisfied." Brother Han said.

"At present, the cooperative located in the village alone covers an area of 120 mu, 16 greenhouses and a large intelligent greenhouse for breeding. At the same time, it has driven the agricultural planting of hundreds of acres of land in the surrounding areas. Our co-operatives have given many villagers a taste of sweetness." In the interview, Han Xiaowei, manager of Haofeng Agricultural Cooperative, told reporters that nowadays, more and more people are ready to give up the traditional planting mode of "fighting alone" and join the cooperative family.

In the interview, the reporter learned that in order to improve the planting and sales of tomatoes, the cooperative adopted the management mode of "four unifications" for the majority of farmers, namely unified seedling cultivation, unified technology, unified fertilization and unified sales. It turns out that farmers plant greenhouses by themselves to buy seedlings and apply chemical fertilizer by themselves. Those who know technology have higher yields. Those who do not know technology can only copy them according to the experience handed down by their ancestors. Once they encounter large-scale diseases and insect pests, they are likely to face the danger of extinction. Even if the fruit is harvested in the end, how to sell it will be a difficult problem. But now, the cooperative implements one-stop management, from seedling raising to sales, farmers do not have to worry about. "In terms of seedlings, we have adopted advanced tray substrate technology and selected excellent varieties; after the plant is seeded, it is matched with fertilizer according to scientific ratio to ensure that the fruit is green and pollution-free while promoting tomato growth; agricultural experts and technicians are invited to inspect the greenhouse every half month to kill pests and diseases in time. In addition, science popularization knowledge training for growers is held irregularly to enable farmers to master the most advanced planting technology. Finally, when the tomatoes mature and go public, the company looks for a unified market. Merchants from all over the country drive the purchase car directly to the cooperative. This saves farmers more time to focus on the land." Manager Han told reporters.

Han Jitu, 60, is the biggest beneficiary of China-Korea Village Cooperative. His wife has been ill for many years, his family has three children, and an 80-year-old man needs to be supported. His life is very poor. Later, the village committee and cooperative learned about Lao Han's experience and rented a vegetable greenhouse to Lao Han free of charge in the early stage by means of "planting land first and paying later", and also provided tomato seedlings and fertilizer free of charge. When Old Han earned money, he would make up for the relevant expenses. Now, Lao Han's tomatoes have a bumper harvest. "After selling the tomatoes, the rental cost of the greenhouse was removed, and finally there were more than 20,000 yuan left. This year's income can catch up with that of the past ten years. The change that our cooperative has brought to me is really too great!" Old Han said.