云南省临沧市永德县亚练乡探索临沧坚果与咖啡套种模式 “坚果+咖啡” 经济生态双赢 Exploration of Lincang Nut and Coffee Interplanting Model in Yalian Township, Yongde County, Lincang City, Yunnan Province: "Nut+Coffee"

Nut and coffee intercropping to explore the development space of understory economy. Photo by correspondent Zhao Yunying

In early autumn, walking into the mountains and forests of Yalian Township, Yongde County, one can see lush and verdant nut forests in Lincang, with branches and leaves adorned with numerous green fruits. Under the forest, rows of newly planted coffee seedlings are lush with greenery, and villagers are busy managing and fertilizing them. Villager Xu Zhengyi smiled and calculated his own harvest: "Last year, just over 10 acres of nuts and coffee were sold for nearly 90000 yuan. This year, nuts have entered their peak season, and it should be no problem for income to exceed 100000 yuan

In recent years, Yalian Township has relied on its resource endowment, adhered to the guidance of Party building, actively explored the development path of modern agriculture with plateau characteristics, and developed a new industrial development model of "10000 yuan per mu forest" centered on the intercropping of nuts and coffee in Lincang. The once barren hills and slopes have become a "green bank" for farmers to increase their income.

Yalian Township is located in the southwest of Yunnan, with a subtropical monsoon climate, abundant sunshine, and large temperature differences between day and night. It is not only suitable for nut growth, but also a golden area for high-quality coffee cultivation. The planting area of nuts in the whole township has been expanding year by year, currently reaching 54300 mu, covering 11 administrative villages, with an average planting area of about 7.5 mu per household. At the same time, the coffee planting area in the entire township reached 3476.67 acres, involving 581 households.

Nuts have a long cycle and slow effectiveness, while coffee production is fast but requires building a shading net and increasing costs. The Party Committee of Yalian Township has summarized a three-dimensional intercropping model of "using nuts as shade trees and coffee to supplement income" through in-depth research. Nut coffee grows in complementary ways, forming an ecological cycle pattern of "promoting coffee with forests and nurturing forests with coffee". This not only improves land use efficiency, but also effectively solves the problem of limited resources and low efficiency of a single industry in mountainous areas.

In order to promote the growth and strengthening of the industry, Yalian Township adheres to the leadership of Party building, promotes the formation of a development mechanism that is coordinated by the Party committee, promoted by the village and society, led by Party members, and participated by the masses, and strives to make efforts in leading, technical support, and demonstration guidance. In terms of market integration, the township party committee has promoted the signing of a tripartite "agreement binding" mechanism with Yongde County Xinyan Agricultural Products Development Co., Ltd., namely "enterprise+cooperative+farmers". By 2024, the enterprise will have cumulatively benefited fruit farmers by 600000 yuan and the village collective will have increased their income by 300000 yuan. Cooperating with Yongde Guiya Coffee Plantation Co., Ltd., adopting the "company+cooperative+base+farmers" model, we will purchase 300 tons of fresh coffee fruits in 2024, which will increase farmers' income by 2.55 million yuan and employ more than 400 people.

At the same time, Yalian Township actively integrates enterprise technicians, agricultural technology station experts, and local talents to form a "never leave agricultural technology service team", carry out full chain technical training, and improve the level of farmers' planting and management. By introducing "fly prevention" technology, unified pest and disease control is carried out, achieving a dual breakthrough of "reducing insect population and increasing fruit yield". Pilot data shows that the average management and maintenance cost per mu has decreased from 120 yuan to around 20 yuan, a cost reduction of over 80%.

At present, Yalian Township is gradually building an industrial closed loop driven by enterprise leaders, cooperative hub linkage, and technology services. Through the three-dimensional intercropping of nuts and coffee, the comprehensive output value per mu remains stable between 10200 and 14500 yuan. After deducting costs, the average net income per mu can reach around 10000 yuan. At present, the total area of intercropping in the township has reached 2600 mu, and the annual comprehensive output value has increased by 26 million yuan. As nuts enter their peak production period and coffee quality steadily improves, people's income continues to increase. 'Ten thousand yuan per mu of forest' is no longer a dream, but a true reflection of more and more farmers. Through the "nut+coffee" model, Yalian Township has effectively solved the problem of industrial development in mountainous areas, promoting a win-win situation between ecological protection and farmers' income increase. On the one hand, three-dimensional intercropping has doubled the land efficiency, and the barren mountains of the past have been covered in green; On the other hand, the extension of the industrial chain has driven employment, and the development and growth of cooperatives and enterprises have also enhanced the collective economic strength of village level communities.

Now we harvest both nuts and coffee, which not only provides stable income, but also income from working, "said villager Xu Zhengyi. Nowadays, Yalian Township is developing agroforestry according to local conditions, while maintaining the ecological foundation, and expanding the path for the masses to increase income and become prosperous.

Yunbao Full Media Reporter Wang Luyao C