Farmers harvest bananas in Longhan banana plantation base in Lingao County, south China's Hainan Province, Aug. 15, 2021. (Xinhua)
HAIKOU, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- At the break of dawn, Wang Hai pushed open his door and walked into the banana fields to check the condition of the plants.
"I usually walk around the fields for three to four hours a day," said Wang, 60.
Wang is the manager of the Longhan banana plantation base in Lingao County, south China's Hainan Province. He looks after approximately 67 hectares of banana plantations and has reaped solid profits over the past few years through his hard work. "Life is so much better now," he said.
Wang's plantation career is flourishing as China pushes forward rural vitalization.
China unveiled its "No. 1 central document" for this year on Feb. 22, highlighting efforts to stabilize and increase agricultural production, and steadily raise farmers' incomes.
FROM SECURITY GUARD TO SKILLED FARMER
Wang's first foray into the tropical fruit industry was years ago as a security guard. In the early days, he and his fellow villagers used to make ends meet through paddy rice farming and sugarcane plantation.
"Life was hard back then and I used to live in a windowless house," Wang said.
In 2000, an ecological farming company came to the village to undertake banana plantations. Wang seized the opportunity and applied to become a security guard there and secured the job.
"My responsibilities included looking after the banana trees, preventing cattle from damaging the plantation and ensuring villagers do not enter the area," he said.
While the job provided a steady income, it fell short of his ambition, which was learning about banana farming.
"When I patrolled the fields, I would observe how the workers fertilized the fields," Wang said. "I learned how much fertilizer each banana plant required and when to fertilize the plants."
He would take notes and learn the farming techniques, and soon mastered the skills of banana farming.
CLIMBING THE SUCCESS LADDER
After a few years, the company head recognized Wang's potential and appointed him manager of a small patch of banana plantation area. Wang was in charge of everything from farming to electricity and irrigation.
Thanks to the skills he had gained, Wang's first batch of banana trees each bore more than 350 kg of yield per hectare, much higher than the average output in previous years.
"It was quite impressive, and my boss transferred me to larger fields," he said.
With the money he earned, Wang built a new house and bought cars for his family.
But Wang's career was not all smooth sailing. In 2010, a typhoon completely destroyed his banana fields, leaving him devastated.
"I did not know what to do at the time, I was at a loss," Wang said, adding that it was the encouragement of his company staff that instilled hope in him. "Life goes on no matter what happens."
The natural tragedy came as a blessing in disguise, as it taught him to better prepare for future calamities by chopping the leaves of the banana plants to mitigate the impact.
There are currently 18 workers in Wang's banana fields, all of whom are local villagers. They can each earn up to 20,000 U.S. dollars a year, much more than what they used to earn by rice or sugarcane farming.
Wang is now hatching bigger plans for his farming career. "We plan to grow more tropical fruits, such as pineapples, which have high economic value."
Wang believes that in the days to come people in the region will continue to embrace greater prosperity. ■
Wang Hai (L) shows the technique of watering banana trees in banana fields in Lingao County, south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 10, 2020. (Xinhua)
Photo taken on Jan. 6, 2021 shows the banana fields of Longhan banana plantation base in Lingao County, south China's Hainan Province. (Xinhua)
