“Good soil and water are essential for producing quality agricultural products, yet some government departments and even agricultural experts have not given this enough attention, or rather, have been unable to face up to it. After all, soil pollution has become a difficult problem to resolve in the process of industrialisation and urbanisation. Liu Weichao's words instantly made one view him in a new light.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11333/
Lau Wai-chiu is from Hong Kong and holds a PhD in biology. Perhaps due to his professional background, he has a natural sensitivity to food. Having lived in Mainland China for many years and being troubled by frequently exposed food safety issues, the idea of getting into organic agriculture was born in him. Firstly, to solve the food consumption problem for his family and surrounding friends, and secondly, to combine his profession with beneficial attempts and exploration, which he thoroughly enjoys. A few years ago, he accidentally got to know some large-scale growers and also took a fancy to these hundreds of mu of “geomantically auspicious land” in the Doumen Lianzhou Ecological Park. After more than a year of effort, Lau Wai-chiu's vegetable base has formed a certain production scale, supplying over 3,000 kilograms to the urban area every day, and the base already possesses a certain production capacity. “Food safety receives a lot of attention, and quite a few organisations have long-term partnerships with us to order organic vegetables,” said Lau Wai-chiu.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11333/
The reporter saw on-site that the 300 mu of vegetable plots rented by Liu Weichao were divided into neat and orderly strips and blocks. In the fields, cucumbers, tomatoes and green beans, which are in season, were the most abundant. “Most of the time, my workers and I have breakfast right in the fields. Cucumbers and tomatoes picked on the spot are washed in the ditch water to make a healthy breakfast.” On clear days, flocks of sparrows, like small aeroplanes, swept low, startling a group of frolicking yellow-brown chickens in the wild land. “They are after the tomatoes, and peck a fair few to pieces every day. But it doesn't matter, I quite like them; they can eat as many tomatoes and cucumbers as they like. The pecked ones can be fed to the chickens, so nothing goes to waste.”文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11333/
Over recent years, while continuing his environmental business, Liu Weichao has devoted a great deal of time and energy to cultivating his organic vegetable “pilot plot”. “In actual fact, the most time-consuming part is not the growing stage, but soil remediation,” said Liu. Designated as the Doumen Lianzhou Ecological Park, this farmland is located within a water source protection zone and already boasts a fairly sound ecological foundation. It was also previously used on a large scale for growing a variety of vegetables as part of the municipal “vegetable basket” project. Liu's entry has led to further improvements to the water and soil right from the source. "There are many methods available for the conservation and improvement of water and soil. To maintain good soil and fertility, we mainly carry out planned crop rotation, and also adopt physical methods such as breeding earthworms and applying probiotics, so as to protect this fine piece of farmland and allow it to play a greater role."文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11333/
During the interview, the reporter learnt that Liu Weichao recently set up a “mushroom cultivation shed” at the base, introducing several varieties of mushrooms for trial planting. He told the reporter that mushroom cultivation is also the simplest and most effective method for soil testing. For instance, termite mushrooms will not grow in contaminated areas. Therefore, during the trial phase in the cultivation shed, we continuously adjusted and improved the growth medium, utilising microbial technology to effectively degrade and remediate the soil.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11333/
Liu Weichao's ideal is to engage in true ecological agriculture, produce organic agricultural products, achieve scale, promote planting among surrounding farmers, and ultimately develop sightseeing agriculture. In addition to planting, Liu Weichao has built a rabbit farm and chicken coops on the base, initially raising 800 Mahuang chickens. At the same time, he has also experimented with raising dozens of geese and ducks. “My entire base does not use chemical fertilisers or pesticides, so there are particularly many insects. Pest control relies mainly on physical methods, using natural predators to maintain ecological balance. Free-ranging these poultry is just to let them catch the insects,” said Liu Weichao.文章源自FOFCC-http://www.fofcc.org.cn/en/11333/