Efforts to Boost Zigui Navel Orange Industry, Bringing Prosperity to Local Farmers

After sharing the story of navel oranges in Zigui, Hubei Province, a concerned professional finally felt relieved. Her efforts to help local farmers solve the problems in the navel orange industry have been widely supported and echoed.

During a group meeting of the agricultural sector on March 5, she mentioned that she had visited Zigui three times in the past year, which aroused good-natured teasing from her peers: "You work in Beijing, why do you keep going to Hubei?"

The reason behind her frequent trips lies in a popular science visit last June. When she walked into Zigui at that time, the mountains and valleys were covered with golden and bright navel oranges hanging heavily on the branches. However, she learned that when the market was sluggish, the price of these "golden fruits" was even lower than the farmers’ labor costs.

Challenges such as inadequate cold chain logistics, poor information connectivity and scattered logistics have long been a concern for her. Driven by the desire to help local farmers, she kept traveling from Beijing to Zigui, trying to find solutions.

In the fields, she talked with farmers extensively, asking about the storage time of picked fruits and their transportation destinations. Her focus was on solving the bottlenecks in the entire industrial chain of agricultural product production, storage, transportation and sales.

During the recent winter sales season of navel oranges, she returned to Zigui again. This time, she brought not only cold chain logistics experts but also specific plans for cold chain logistics upgrading and farmer skill training, aiming to improve the industry’s development capacity.

At the group meeting, some participants expressed concerns: "Cold chain investment is large and returns are slow; it is difficult for grass-roots sectors to bear it."

"We have long considered this problem," she replied firmly. "On the one hand, increase government investment; on the other hand, guide social capital to participate, so that small and medium-sized farmers can use cold chain services at low cost and conveniently."

"Which cold chain technology is most effective in maintaining the freshness of navel oranges?" an expert participant asked with great interest.

"You are the expert, please give suggestions to Zigui’s farmers!" The teasing from a participant made the venue echo with light laughter.

The two-hour group discussion passed quickly. After the meeting, many participants continued to communicate with her and offer suggestions to support the development of Zigui’s navel orange industry.

Holding their hands, she said firmly: "With everyone’s help, the ‘golden fruits’ of Zigui’s farmers will surely be sold farther and better, and their lives will become more and more prosperous."