Yinchuan, July 2 (Reporter Li Peishan) Entering July, in the major planting bases of cold and cool vegetables in China (Western) Cold and Cool Vegetable Town - Yuanzhou District, Guyuan City, Ningxia, the 'leading actress' of cold and cool vegetables, broccoli, is facing a large-scale market. Vegetable farmers are bustling in the fields, and the full and firm broccoli enters the bamboo basket with a swing of the hand.

Broccoli harvesting by vegetable farmers. Photo by Mi Ting

'Our climate has a large temperature difference, abundant sunshine, and no pollution. The broccoli we grow has high quality, fresh and green, and although the price is higher than other places, the order-based sales is still in high demand.' said Chen Jianping, the person in charge of the 10,000-acre broccoli base in Yangzhuang Village, Touying Town, Yuanzhou District, as he peeled off the leaves to show the mature broccoli. 'According to testing by professional institutions, the soluble sugar, dry matter, and protein content of the broccoli we grow are 53.53%, 17.65%, and 25.03% higher than the average of the reference samples, respectively, and the excellent quality has been widely recognized by the national market.

Broccoli harvesting by vegetable farmers. Photo by Mi Ting

According to information, the base has reached a cooperative agreement with Kangsheng Vegetables, Fruits, and Cereals专业合作社 in Linhai City, Zhejiang Province, forming a 'technical guidance + unified procurement' sales model. It not only provides farmers with field management technology but also organizes unified procurement and sales, and drives 37 villagers around the area to plant 700 acres of broccoli.

Broccoli sorting by vegetable farmers. Photo by La Xiaolong

On the other hand, in the sorting workshop of the Zhongfeng Cooperative in Wumao Village, Pengpu Town, Yuanzhou District, the freshly harvested broccoli is sorted, boxed, iced, and sealed after 4 hours, and can be served on the dining tables of citizens in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area within 72 hours. 'This year, we have planted 2,700 acres of broccoli, of which the area of the 'Mei Qing' variety has expanded to 1,000 acres. The daily output is between 30 and 50 tons, and customers are遍布 across the country.' said Wang Yanhui, the company's director.

This year, Yuanzhou District continues to expand the planting scale of 'Mei Qing' broccoli and simultaneously carries out comparative tests of 22 new and improved varieties. Currently, the planting area of broccoli in Yuanzhou District has exceeded 35,600 acres, with an expected output of 71,200 tons and an output value of nearly 100 million yuan.

Not only is broccoli popular nationwide, since May, more than 7,000 acres of bok choy and kale in Yuanzhou District have entered the harvest period. More than 130 tons of fresh and tender cold and cool vegetables picked every day can be delivered directly to the dining tables of citizens across the country through the whole process of cold chain transportation.

Currently, Yuanzhou District has 6 ten-thousand-acre and 16 thousand-acre green vegetable standardized production bases. The total planting area of cold and cool vegetables is stable at 250,000 acres, with a total output of up to 1.05 million tons and a total output value of over 3 billion yuan. The cold and cool vegetable industry, mainly with broccoli and bok choy, has become the 'gold brand' of Yuanzhou's cold and cool vegetables with its unique advantages of delicious taste, nutrition, and greenness.

At the same time, to comprehensively enhance the value of the cold and cool vegetable industry, Yuanzhou District has introduced subsidy policies, actively exploring the extension of the industrial chain, providing subsidies to village collectives and operators for the recycling and processing of leftover vegetables, and supporting leading enterprises to cooperate with foreign enterprises to develop deep processing projects for leftover vegetables.

This year, the cold and cool vegetables in Yuanzhou District will continue to be produced and sold until October, ensuring uninterrupted supply to the national market, especially the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.