Lijiang Maca

Lijiang Maca

Lijiang Maca is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　 Maca is not only a nutrient-rich food but also an herb with various miraculous effects. It is a unique and rare cruciferous plant that serves both as food and medicine. According to modern scientific research, maca contains a variety of nutrients such as protein, amino acids, polysaccharides, and multiple vitamins. In addition, maca also contains natural active plant compounds with special effects, including macaene, macamides, mustard oil, alkaloids, amino acids, and mineral trace elements. These compounds offer pharmacological benefits such as boosting immunity, improving sexual function, regulating endocrine function, combating fatigue, providing antioxidant effects, and fighting tumors. Clinically, maca can be used to enhance and treat sexual function, improve menopausal syndrome, treat anemia, increase physical strength, and lower blood lipids. It is one of the world’s top ten best-selling health supplements. Our county began conducting trials and demonstration plantings of maca introduction in 2003. By 2013, the total area under maca cultivation in the county reached 21,000 mu, yielding 4,198 tons of fresh maca fruit annually. Years of practice have proven that land suitable for maca cultivation is mainly distributed in mountainous cold temperate to sub-frigid zones at altitudes of 2,800 to 4,200 meters and latitudes between 20 and 30 degrees north. It is entirely suitable for promotion and cultivation in Lijiang’s high-altitude cold mountainous areas above 2,800 meters, and it has broad market prospects. The land area in Yulong County suitable for promoting maca cultivation exceeds 100,000 mu. With the Ministry of Health officially approving maca as a “new resource food” for production and business operations, the Lijiang Municipal Government has set the industrial development goal of “centering on Lijiang, radiating to the Greater Shangri-La region, working hard for five years, and building Lijiang into the world’s largest maca planting and processing base.” By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the planned maca planting base area in Yulong County will reach 50,000 mu, with output value exceeding 250 million yuan. This will truly establish it as a characteristic and advantageous industry in high-altitude poor mountainous areas and create another iconic product of Yulong following Lijiang Snow Peaches — “Lijiang Maca.”