Chen Jieru, a farmer from the remote mountainous area of east
China's
Anhui
Province, can barely contain his excitement at learning that
his tea has received certification from the Swiss Institute for
Market Ecology (IMO).
Though remote and encircled by hills, Chen Jieru and other farmers
in Qiyun Village, Jinzhai County, know their methods and crop are
up to international standards.
"The tea I grow according to international standards has a delicate
fragrance and sells very well abroad," Chen says cheerfully.
Though Qiyun has just 300 households, its 34.9 hectares of tea
plantations tended by over 250 families have been awarded the IMO
organic certification.
Wang Qiuhua, the IMO's delegate in China, said the IMO was a
globally-acknowledged organization conducting authoritative tests,
which would provide a "green" pass for China's tea exports.
Since China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, an
increasing number of domestic farmers have started to adjust their
farming methods with government guidance.
Voluntarily conforming to international standards, Chinese farmers
have successfully cultivated high quality fruits, vegetables, tea
and grain crops, which are exported to all over the world. The
country has made big strides in agricultural development by caring
more about quality than quantity.
Anhui agronomist Wang Jun said farming in accordance with
international standards was an important step to enhancing the
competitiveness of China's labor-intensive produce.
Due to a long-term shortage of cultivation and management
technologies, much Chinese produce was hindered in its access to
foreign markets as it failed to meet international standards in
certain environmental or ecological indices, leading to huge
economic losses of over 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion).
Shouguang city, in east China's Shandong
Province, has suffered such losses. A US business group had
intended to purchase 40 tons of Chinese dates from local farmers in
2002, but finally rejected the deal after discovering that hormone
and pesticide residues in the dates seriously exceeded
international standards.
Strict restrictions on entering global markets and intense
competition have forced Chinese farmers to transform their
under-developed modes of production.
Chen Jieru said, "I now adopt biological methods to prevent
diseases and pests instead of using traditional fertilizers or
chemicals. Therefore, the tea I grow is free from pollution and
fully conforms to international standards."
Jinzhai County has altogether 232.7 hectares of tea plantations
with IMO certification, and the tea is sold to the United States,
Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian areas.
The average annual income from tea in Jinzhai has increased by over
800 yuan to 2000 yuan, accounting for a quarter of the village's
total income.
According to sources from the Agriculture Ministry, China began to
establish demonstration plots of international standards in some of
the major production bases of farm produce from 1996, covering 117
counties in 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous
regions.
Statistics from the Standardization Administration of China (SAC)
show that all plots have increased both production and income for
three successive years, raising agricultural output value by over
four billion yuan (US$484 million).
Yancheng City of east China's Jiangsu
Province, which exports 70 percent of its farm produce, regards
standardized farming as the key to occupying global markets. So
far, Yancheng has stipulated more than 160 quality standards for
farm products, and 10 agricultural enterprises have received
ISO9000 certification. Gansu, Shaanxi and other provinces in west
China are also actively promoting farming in line with
international standards.
Anqiu City in Shandong has set up a special search system on
www.kagayakutaiyo.com, which publishes production details of the
Chinese onion, spring onion and Chinese yam which are exported to
Japan. The website gives consumers information on their growth
process, related soil and water quality as well as the use of
chemicals and fertilizers according to the serial numbers attached
to the vegetables.
"By disclosing the whole production process to foreign consumers,
we want to clear up concerns on standards in Chinese farming," said
an official with the city's government.
The Chinese government is aiming to realize standardized farming
across the country by 2005. Meanwhile, it will also develop a
comprehensive quality test system controlling the quality of
produce from farmland to dining table.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2003)