Leisure Agriculture Is In Vogue

A new method of farming, called leisure agriculture, encourages tourists to participate in various agricultural activities, and is increasing in popularity in China. Economic analysts say the phenomenon has a lot of potential to grow as an industry.

It is a fresh, weekend morning after a night of rain at a farm ranch located in Huairou District in suburban Beijing. A number of people are busy working in the fields, planting new seeds, watering vegetables, and harvesting. But these happy workers aren't actual farmers, but rather city dwellers who choose to spend their weekends farming.

Peng Yujiang is in charge of the farm ranch, which employs nearly 200 local farmers and attracts 800 regular "urban farmers" like Jia Yanming and her husband. Though it is still in its initial stage, Peng is confident that his business will thrive. He also talks of other business plans:

"Some of my friends living in the city have asked me whether I can deliver fresh, organic vegetables to their doors. It saves them the trouble of doing vegetable shopping at supermarkets, and gives them more security about the quality of the produce. It inspired me to start the family vegetable distribution business."

Peng Yujiang is not the only one who benefits from running leisure agriculture ventures. Take the Huairou District of Beijng, for example: currently a total of 76 leisure agriculture business operations exist in the district, with an annual income of around 320 million Yuan.

According to Zhang Tianzuo, director of the Township Enterprises Bureau under the Ministry of Agriculture, leisure agriculture is a fairly new concept in China. And healthy competition will be helpful in boosting the development of the burgeoning industry:

"The latest statistics from China's Ministry of Agriculture indicate that, at the end of 2011, more than 700 million tourists from across the country had participated in various leisure agriculture activities. More than 15 million farmers have been benefiting from the industry. The annual income of China's leisure agriculture business is more than 120 billion Yuan, or about 18.9 billion US Dollars. It has become an important way for farmers to increase their personal income."

The official says one point that needs to be stressed is that Leisure agriculture should not be developed at the expense of harming the basis of agricultural production. And it should also take full advantage of natural and culture resources in the countryside.

He suggests different target groups and markets, as well as pricing strategies, should be properly developed in order to effectively improve the quality of services and products, as well as the management techniques, of leisure agriculture in China.

For CRI, I'm Yao Yongmei.

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