Honeysuckle from Baishuwan

Honeysuckle from Baishuwan

Honeysuckle from Baishuwan is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　Honeysuckle from Baishuwan is a specialty of Zengdu District, Suizhou City, Hubei Province.

　　　Specialized planting leads to prosperity through science and technology. In May, the village of Baishuwan in Huan Tan Town, Suixian County, is filled with the rich fragrance of honeysuckle flowers.

　　　　In front of the drying facility of the village’s planting and breeding cooperative, farmers come in an endless stream to sell their honeysuckle. The laughter of the people mingles with the fragrance of the flowers, which greets you upon arrival. The flower farmers all told reporters that this year’s blossoms are particularly abundant—it’s hard to pick them all.

　　　　On the sloping fields of Group 4 in the village, the couple Cheng Renchao and Zhou Zhongfang are busy harvesting honeysuckle. They told reporters that this area of sloping land used to only support dry crops, with low yields and little income, causing many villagers to abandon farming and go out to work. Since the village established a planting and breeding cooperative, introduced and promoted the cultivation of honeysuckle, invited technicians to give lectures, and provided hands-on instruction on cultivation and pruning techniques, as well as assistance with soil testing and organic fertilizer application, the honeysuckle has yielded returns in the same year it was planted. It has grown more and more vigorously, quickly entering its peak production period, and can be harvested up to four times a year. A single mu of land can produce over 1,000 pounds of flowers in a year. Although market conditions have been volatile this year and prices are lower than last year, the income is still several times higher than before. More and more villagers are choosing to grow honeysuckle at home.

　　　　During the interview, Zhang Guangneng, the Party branch secretary of the village and general manager of the planting and breeding cooperative, was still frequently in contact with partner enterprises in Shandong and Henan. “This year, the market for honeysuckle has hit a low point, but our cooperative bears the market risk. We offer a protective purchase price of 7 yuan per pound of fresh flowers, which is higher than the market rate. The losses will be offset by other projects. Moreover, purchases are settled in cash, requiring substantial working capital, and the town party committee and government have given us strong support.”

　　　　The village began introducing honeysuckle cultivation in 2008. Zhang Guangneng said that at the time, when considering how to lead the villagers to prosperity, they realized the village lacked transportation and resource advantages. To achieve wealth, they had to find a different path. After investigation, analysis, and experimentation, the “Zhongqin No. 1” variety of honeysuckle was found to be particularly suitable for the local soil and climate conditions. It thrives in sunlight, is drought-resistant, yields benefits for many years after a single planting, and requires no pest control here, making it a completely organic crop with high medicinal value. Through gradual promotion, the village has now planted 2,000 mu of honeysuckle and has also encouraged surrounding rural farmers to grow it. The cooperative invested over 1.6 million yuan to build a honeysuckle drying facility equipped with advanced domestic forced-air drying equipment, and established three primary processing production lines for honeysuckle, capable of processing over 5 tons of fresh honeysuckle per day.

　　　　“Our goal is to establish a 10,000-mu medicinal honeysuckle base and continuously improve planting and processing techniques to increase value for farmers’ prosperity,” said Zhang Guangneng. While developing honeysuckle, the village has also cultivated other economic crops such as poplar, camellia oil, peony, and paeonia. Currently, 4,000 mu of camellia oil, 1,000 mu of peony and paeonia, and 500,000 poplar trees have been planted.

　　Honeysuckle from Baishuwan

　　 Suixian Honeysuckle Association

　　 11631145

　　 Honeysuckle (plant)