Ruoheng Watermelon

Ruoheng Watermelon

　　The Ruoheng Watermelon Cooperative of Wenling City was established in July 2001. Currently, the cooperative has a registered capital of 500,000 yuan, 252 members, fixed assets worth 2.96 million yuan, and 13 watermelon production bases — one in the city itself, two in Guangdong, four in Hainan, three in Jiangxi, and three in Guangxi — covering a total area of over 13,000 mu. It has also established sales outlets in over 50 fruit wholesale markets across 20 provinces and cities nationwide, linking up with 9,200 farming households and directly contributing to the formation of an 80,000-mu watermelon industry belt along the southeastern coast of Wenling. The cooperative plays a leading and exemplary role in advancing the industrialized operation of agriculture in the city. To further standardize operational mechanisms, improve internal management, and strengthen and optimize the watermelon industry, in 2005, the cooperative implemented standardized construction in accordance with the Zhejiang Provincial Regulations on Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives and the Class A standards for standardized construction of farmers’ professional cooperatives in Wenling City. Currently, the cooperative features clear property rights, sound systems, standardized operations, democratic management, and comprehensive services. Its organizational functions, operational quality, and ability to increase member incomes have all been further enhanced. Specific practices of the cooperative in standardizing operations to grow, strengthen, and optimize the watermelon industry include:

　　　　I. Standardizing Registration and Bylaws, Laying a Solid Foundation for Intrinsic Development

　　　　In line with the establishment requirements stipulated in the Regulations and the Opinions on the Registration of Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives issued by the Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce, the cooperative deregistered and re-registered. It standardized the cooperative’s name, shareholding structure, economic nature, and scope of business, clarified property rights, and defined the nature of the cooperative. Referring to the Model Bylaws for Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives in Zhejiang Province, the cooperative improved its own bylaws and enhanced a series of internal management systems such as financial management, membership admission and withdrawal, dismissal policies, production base management, and production quality reward and penalty systems. These improvements strengthened internal management and laid a solid foundation for the cooperative’s growth, strengthening, and optimization.

　　　　II. Standardizing Organizational Structure and Optimizing Management Methods to Improve Operational Management

　　　　The cooperative began by standardizing its organizational structure to ensure democratic decision-making. Drawing on modern corporate systems, it established a General Assembly of Members, a Council (with seven members), and a Supervisory Board (with five members). The General Assembly of Members is the highest authority, deciding on major production, operational, managerial, and distribution matters. The Council serves as the executive body, handling day-to-day operations and reporting to the General Assembly. The Supervisory Board acts as the oversight body, representing all members to supervise and inspect the work of the Council. Based on practical needs, the cooperative optimized its production and management methods, treating each “production base” as a relatively independent “workshop” for watermelon production. Each production base is divided into several production teams that form the basic operational units. The bases organize standardized watermelon production, while the cooperative centrally handles marketing and the supply of agricultural inputs. This approach has created an integrated framework of specialized production, corporate-style management, large-scale operations, and branded marketing, significantly improving the cooperative’s overall management level.

　　　　III. Standardizing Accounting and Enhancing Transparency to Strengthen Unity

　　　　In accordance with the Zhejiang Provincial Trial Measures for Accounting of Farmers’ Professional Cooperatives, the cooperative hired full-time accounting personnel with proper certifications. It established cash journals, bank journals, and accounting ledgers to standardize accounting practices. The cooperative sets up separate accounts for each production base and regularly discloses financial and operational conditions to members on a per-base basis. At the end of each watermelon production cycle, all members of each base gather for account reconciliation and collective financial planning, democratically deciding on profit distribution. This enhances transparency in financial and operational matters. The cooperative also submits financial and accounting reports to the Municipal Agriculture and Forestry Bureau on schedule, receiving guidance and supervision from the bureau. With sound and transparent financial accounting, members have a clear understanding of the cooperative’s finances, greatly enhancing their sense of unity and the cooperative’s cohesion.

　　　　IV. Standardizing Production and Operations and Strengthening Unified Services to Boost Product Competitiveness

　　　　To implement standardized watermelon production, improve product quality, reduce production costs, and enhance competitiveness, the cooperative first standardized its production and operational conditions by constructing 500 square meters of service facilities and venues. It organized technical training for members and farmers, sharing watermelon cultivation experiences to enhance standardized production capabilities. Next, the cooperative organized members to carry out standardized production according to the technical procedures for producing “Yulin” brand watermelons. During production, it ensured unified seedling cultivation, production techniques, quality control, and agricultural input supply services, fundamentally guaranteeing excellent watermelon quality. Thirdly, it strengthened unified services by purchasing and delivering agricultural inputs on behalf of members and farmers. The cooperative centralized the procurement of fertilizers, pesticides, plastic films, and agricultural machinery needed during production, either ordering directly from manufacturers or purchasing wholesale from specialized markets. This approach not only ensured the quality of agricultural inputs but also reduced production and operational costs for members and farmers.

　　　　V. Standardizing Industrial Layout and Implementing Differentiated Development to Expand Operational Scale

　　　　Considering the strong seasonality of watermelon production, the inability to plant continuously in the same fields, and the limited sales radius, the cooperative actively standardized its industrial layout on the basis of stable local development. It pursued a “going-out” strategy by establishing production bases outside the province for off-site development and differentiated growth, striving to expand new development opportunities and scale up the cooperative. The cooperative has set up 12 “Yulin” watermelon production bases in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi, covering more than 12,500 mu. This not only extended the sales season of “Yulin” brand watermelons — making them available year-round — and expanded the sales radius, reducing operating expenses, but also rapidly increased the industrial scale of “Yulin” watermelons. This growth generated greater economies of scale, boosted local agricultural economic development, and forged a path of resource complementarity, mutual benefit, and common development in the watermelon industry.

　　　　VI. Standardizing Brand Management and Unified Marketing to Strengthen Brand Influence

　　　　The cooperative rigorously managed the “Yulin” watermelon brand, not only purchasing the exclusive ownership of the “Yulin” brand trademark from the Ruoheng Agricultural Trade Service Co., Ltd. of Wenling City for 100,000 yuan, but also strictly adhering to the quality standards for Yulin watermelons. It enforced strict harvesting, grading, packaging, and trademark labeling to protect and enhance the brand’s reputation and market visibility. The cooperative also established marketing outlets in major agricultural wholesale markets across over 50 large and medium-sized cities in 20 provinces and cities, using the “Yulin” brand uniformly, setting unified market prices, and conducting unified sales to actively build and promote the “Yulin” watermelon brand. Currently, the “Yulin” brand watermelon has been designated as a Zhejiang Provincial Famous Product, the “Yulin” trademark has been recognized as a Zhejiang Provincial Famous Trademark, and it has won consecutive Gold Awards at the China Zhejiang International Agricultural Expo. It has also obtained National Green Food Certification. The market share continues to expand, and the market image and brand influence have been further strengthened.

　　　　Through standardized construction, the cooperative has formed an integrated production, service, and sales mechanism for watermelon operations. It has closely linked information, production, and marketing aspects of the watermelon industry, implementing standardized production, corporate-style management, comprehensive services, and branded operations. This has effectively advanced the industrialized operation of watermelons, significantly improved operational benefits, and steadily increased the economic income of melon farmers. In 2005, the cooperative sold 26,000 tons of “Yulin” brand watermelons, generating sales revenue of 78.2 million yuan, and returned 10.5 million yuan in surplus to members. It increased member income by over 520 yuan per mu, resulting in over 10,000 yuan of additional income per member and an average increase of over 1,520 yuan per melon farming household. The cooperative truly fulfilled its role of “building an organization, establishing a brand, revitalizing an industry, energizing a local economy, and enriching the local people.” It promotes legal production and operations, gradually forming a closely linked community of shared interests between production and sales.