Through vicissitudes to glory - A record of the development history of Henan Province's Yellow River flood control farm

　　Time flies, and the years slip away.

　　Along with the tremendous changes of the times, and treading a path through wind and rain, the Yellow River Floodplain Farm in Henan Province has weathered storms and progressed through 55 years of arduous and extraordinary development. 55 years have passed in a flash.

　　Over the past 55 years, through the concerted efforts of several generations of agricultural reclamation workers, the Yellow River Floodplain Farm has grown from nothing to something, from small to large, and from weak to strong. It has developed into a large-scale provincial state-owned agricultural reclamation enterprise of the first category, with a land area of 98 square kilometers, 102,000 mu of cultivated land, a total population of 30,200, 15,000 employees, 28 subordinate administrative and public service units, 1 regimental-level armed department, more than 1,200 individual industrial and commercial households and private enterprises, and 13 Zhoukou City and Xihua County on-site units. A small town with a beautiful environment, fresh air, complete infrastructure, and comprehensive service functions, most suitable for people to live and even for leisure and sightseeing, has begun to emerge before people.

　　55 years of long journey, 55 years of hard work, 55 years of forging ahead through storms and winds, 55 years of tremendous changes in rivers.

　　Looking back at the past, who would believe that this lush green plain and the vibrant new appearance of the Yellow River Floodplain are the same as the desolate Yellow River Floodplain of the past? People will naturally not forget the past of the Yellow River Floodplain, and its history will be engraved in the hearts of the people of the floodplain...

　　In June 1938, after the invading Japanese army occupied Kaifeng, a major town in eastern Henan, they launched a large-scale westward advance, threatening Zhengzhou and Wuhan. Under the pretext of preventing the Japanese army, the Nationalist government used water as soldiers and recklessly blew up the Zhengzhou Huayuankou Yellow River embankment. The surging yellow water gushed for thousands of miles, and the vast plains were turned into a watery world. 893,000 people in 44 counties in Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces perished, and 12 million people were displaced. By 1946, when the Yellow River embankment was closed, the Yellow River had been overflowing for eight years. During those eight years, eastern Henan suffered years of famine, with corpses lying everywhere, artificially creating a "Yellow River Floodplain" of 54,000 square kilometers.

　　“Yellow River Floodplain”, a symbol of shame.

　　“Yellow River Floodplain”, a synonym for suffering.

　　“For a hundred miles, no cooking smoke rises, only yellow sand sweeps the empty city, path less, wild grass rabbits run, the watery world reeds and toads croak.” This is a true portrayal of the Yellow River Floodplain after the disaster.

　　After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Party and the government attached great importance to the reclamation work in the Yellow River Floodplain. In February 1950, the Central Government established the Yellow River Floodplain Revitalization Committee and set up an office in Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province—the Yellow River Floodplain Revitalization Bureau. The state allocated special funds to start the "revitalization" movement for the benefit of future generations.

　　The revitalization work achieved remarkable results and was praised by Premier Zhou Enlai. After listening to a report on the revitalization progress, Zhou Enlai instructed that after the completion of the revitalization work, the land could be allocated to farmers on a per-household basis. As there was more land than people, the farmers couldn't finish dividing it up, so a large farm could be built in the Yellow River Floodplain! Therefore, under the care of the Central Government and the Henan Provincial Government, after a short period of preparation, the Yellow River Floodplain Farm was officially established in January 1951.

　　The Yellow River Floodplain Farm was born, and this land covered with reeds and artemisia was awakened by a group of pioneers who dared to fight against nature. 194 land reclamation team members gathered from all parts of the country, carrying the trust of the Party and the people, opened the curtain of arduous entrepreneurship and conquest of the wasteland. At that time, there was not a single ridge of land or a single house, and the living and working conditions were extremely difficult. “Half a cup of mud in a cup of tea, sand at the bottom of the thin noodle soup. In winter, there was no place to keep warm; in summer, no place to cool off.” This is a portrayal of the life of the land reclamation team members at that time. However, the hardships and difficulties could not intimidate the fearless land reclamation team members. They used the sky as their roof and the ground as their bed, lived in straw sheds, burned reeds, carried forward the spirit of Nanniwan, relied on a few old machines and a few cooking pots, fought against the wind and sand, planted in summer and harvested in autumn, and cultivated piece after piece of fertile land with their hardworking hands, writing a magnificent epic with their youth.

　　In May 1951, the Yellow River Floodplain Farm ushered in its first mechanized harvest season after its establishment, and all the manpower and material resources of the entire farm were concentrated on the large-scale harvesting campaign. That year, all 1.76 million kilograms of wheat were harvested and stored. The average yield per mu was 210 kilograms, nearly double that of the surrounding villagers.

　　Recalling the glorious years of the past, history will not forget, and the Republic will not forget that on this boiling land of the Yellow River Floodplain, generations of outstanding agricultural reclamation workers have used their wisdom and intelligence to develop, create, and consolidate the newly established state-owned mechanized farm, and used the spirit of self-reliance and hard work to forge the glory of the Yellow River Floodplain. In 1965, the Yellow River Floodplain Farm was named one of the eight model farms in the country by the Ministry of Agricultural Reclamation and was hailed as the "Pearl of Central China".

　　Reform and innovation: The "Pearl of Central China" shines again. The rolling Yellow River water records the joys and sorrows of the people of the Yellow River Floodplain in the past, and also witnesses the reform and opening up of the Central Plains today.

　　On the 98 square kilometers of fertile land in the Yellow River Floodplain Farm, generations of outstanding agricultural reclamation workers have forged the immortal glory of the Yellow River Floodplain with the spirit of self-reliance and hard work. However, due to poor natural conditions, repeated changes in affiliation, insufficient investment, and excessive burdens, especially after entering the 1990s, significant changes have taken place in the national socio-economic system. As an "old-brand" typical state-owned large enterprise, the Yellow River Floodplain Farm has been hampered by the rigid systems and mechanisms stemming from the long-term inertia of the planned economic system, and the self-enclosed and conservative nature of its self-contained social ecosystem, causing the once glorious Yellow River Floodplain Farm to fall behind in the tide of the market economy, and gradually showing signs of decline. By the end of 1997, the total losses had reached 24.48 million yuan.

　　The Yellow River Floodplain Farm, with its tens of thousands of employees, has reached the brink of survival!

　　What to do? Where is the way out for the people of the floodplain? How to save this seriously ill large state-owned agricultural reclamation enterprise?

　　In September 1997, a new leadership team was established. Faced with numerous difficulties, they determined to change the backward appearance of the farm through the gradual deepening of reforms, using broader, deeper, and more powerful reform measures to revitalize the Yellow River Floodplain Farm.

　　The Huangfan District Farm's party and government leadership team, using the "three advantages" standard, discarded outdated practices, pursued reform and innovation, worked hard, kept pace with the times, seeking survival and development through reform, using reform to solve the difficulties and problems encountered during their progress. They primarily implemented a land lease system, deepened agricultural system reform, used shareholding system transformation to deepen reform in industrial and commercial enterprises, mainly used the form of public-private partnership to deepen education and medical system reform, mainly streamlined institutions and introduced a mechanism of corresponding responsibilities, powers, and benefits to deepen the reform of organs and administrative institutions. Among these reforms, the most complex and arduous was the agricultural system reform, primarily focused on the implementation of the land lease system. The Huangfan District Farm began implementing the household land contract system in 1984 and gradually implemented the basic policies of "two self-management," "four to households," and "six unifications" since 1997. In 2002, the farm vigorously promoted the land lease system. Its main content is that the farm-owned land is divided into social security fields (employee identity fields), leased fields, and livelihood security fields by sub-farm. Social security fields are where employees raise social security funds by planting land. Growers are required to engage in high-efficiency planting according to the plan. Leased fields are mainly engaged in high-yield production, based on the principles of facilitating unified planning and layout, and leveraging the advantages of machinery, technology, capital and resources. The land lease system has fundamentally transformed the farm from an operational to an asset management model in agriculture, achieving a historical breakthrough in agricultural production across the farm.

　　The reform of the farm's industrial and commercial enterprises mainly focused on shareholding system transformation, gradually moving towards modern company management and operation. In 1998, the farm carried out drastic restructuring of its industrial and commercial enterprises. Among the farm's 23 enterprises, 3 were directly established as limited liability companies, 2 were leased, 8 went bankrupt, and 10 were merged. In 2002, the farm used equity swaps and capital increase and share expansion as entry points, following the principles of reducing the share capital of state-owned shares, managers holding large shares, and increasing the proportion of natural person shareholding, and carried out a second restructuring of Dishen Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Tianying Cylindr Liner Co., Ltd., Xinxin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., and Lvyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. The asset-liability structure of the enterprises has improved, the burden has been reduced, the sense of responsibility of operators has significantly increased, and production and operation have shown a good momentum.

　　By 2005, the entire farm achieved a gross national product of 219.2 million yuan, a gross social product of 560.2 million yuan, a gross agricultural output value of 160.06 million yuan, a gross industrial output value of 104.34 million yuan, sales of 50.43 million yuan, a live hog inventory of 61,835, hog sales of 100,264, and sales of breeding pigs of 10,500. The agricultural mechanization rate reached over 98%.

　　The Huangfan District Farm has been repeatedly recognized as a national advanced agricultural collective and has received commendation from the State Council. In 2000, it was designated by the Henan Provincial People's Government as an agricultural industrialization leading enterprise, and in May 2004, it won the "National May 1st Labor Award".

　　Through storms, mountains become more beautiful, and after frost, flowers bloom brighter. Today's Huangfan District Farm is rapidly developing along the path of "cultivation and breeding as the foundation, industrial breakthroughs, technology-led, management efficiency improvement, structure optimization, innovation encouragement, activation of circulation, and increase of total output." By creating one "star enterprise" after another, it is adding luster to the "Central Plains Pearl".

　　Planting demonstration, technology first. As a national "seed project" base, Huangfan District has been undertaking the development, trial planting, and promotion of new cotton, grain, and oilseed varieties. Through the development and promotion of new varieties, it has driven surrounding farmers to adjust their planting structure, increasing farmers' income and agricultural efficiency. Huangfan District Dishen Seed Industry Co., Ltd. is a modern seed enterprise integrating scientific research and development, and production and operation. Founded in 1982, it currently has a registered capital of 65.15 million yuan, owns 120,000 mu of seed breeding bases, is a key demonstration unit of the national "seed project," and one of the top 50 seed enterprises in China. The company has 67 agricultural technicians, 42 senior and intermediate agronomists, and undertakes national, provincial, and municipal crop variety trials and demonstration projects year-round. The company owns four independently developed varieties and the operating rights to eight new crop varieties, producing and operating over 4 million kilograms of high-quality crop seeds such as wheat, corn, cotton, soybeans, and peanuts annually, selling to over 100 counties and cities in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Hubei provinces. Its leading product, wheat seeds, has been awarded "Henan Famous Brand Agricultural Product" by the Henan Provincial Government, making it the only seed brand in Henan to receive this title.

　　In recent years, the company has continuously improved its management system, adhered to the path of agricultural industrialization, and achieved a pattern of "specialized production, large-scale operation, standardized management, and integrated breeding, cultivation, and promotion" in seed production and operation. The company has independently developed the Shenmai No. 1 and Shenmai No. 2 wheat varieties, Dishen 21 and Dishen 22 soybean varieties, and Shenmian No. 1 and Shenmian No. 2 cotton varieties. Among them, the average yield of Shenmai No. 2 wheat reached 559.9 kg/mu, winning first place in both the 2003-2004 Henan provincial production test and the national Huang-Huai region test.

　　Currently, the sales volume of wheat seeds produced by Huangfan District Dishen Seed Industry Co., Ltd. accounts for 2.2% of the national wheat seed market and 10% of the Henan provincial market.

　　Cotton production in the Huangfan District Farm has a long history. Since its establishment, it has been undertaking national and provincial cotton regional trials, identifying and screening a large number of new and superior varieties for the Huang-Huai region and Henan Province, and has won 12 national and provincial awards. The total cotton planting area in the farm remains stable at around 80,000 mu. Advanced experiences such as intercropping of grain and cotton, segmented fertilization of cotton, pest control during the egg stage, and rapid double-hand cotton picking have been explored and implemented, and plastic film planting has been implemented first. In 1985, the national cotton regional trial undertaken by the Huangfan District Farm Agricultural Science Institute won the first prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award.

　　The Huangfan District Farm has an early start and large scale in cotton seed production, and has always been the main cotton seed production base in surrounding areas. It has demonstrated and promoted more than 70 excellent varieties such as Luman No. 1 and Jiman No. 8, and was designated as a "high-quality cotton production base" by the state in 2000. In the same year, the farm built a cotton processing plant and a seed processing production line with an annual cotton processing capacity of 50 million kg and cotton seed processing capacity of 10 million kg. Currently, the company's annual cotton seed production area is 10,000 mu, and the hybrid seed production area is 500 mu, making it a large cotton seed production base in Henan.

　　Currently, Dishen Company's Agricultural Science Institute has become a national cotton regional experimental station. In 2004, it undertook 22 national and Henan provincial regional trials, including transgenic insect-resistant cotton, hybrid cotton, and conventional cotton, as well as production trials, with 123 participating varieties. The company is steadily moving forward in the development of the cotton seed industry.

　　Through industrial development, coordinating development through asset restructuring and technological innovation, Huangfan District Farm's measures to develop industry have led to rapid economic growth, with 13 near-agricultural enterprises including fertilizer production, animal husbandry, food processing, and machinery manufacturing. It has been identified by the provincial government as a key leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization. Huangfan District Green Source Chemical Co., Ltd., one of the star enterprises, was founded in the early 1970s. After more than 30 years of rolling development, it has now formed an annual output of 200,000 tons of calcium superphosphate, 80,000 tons of sulfuric acid, 50,000 tons of granular phosphate fertilizer, 50,000 tons of high-concentration compound fertilizer, 800 tons of sodium fluorosilicate, and 2 million woven bags, becoming the largest calcium superphosphate production base in Henan Province. The company's main product, "Green Source" brand calcium superphosphate, has won the "High-Quality Product" award from the Ministry of Agriculture, and has been listed by the Henan Provincial Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau as a "key protected product" and "product exemption enterprise" for consecutive years. "Green Source" brand calcium superphosphate is sold well in more than 200 counties and cities in Henan, Anhui, and Shandong provinces, with an annual profit of over 5 million yuan, ranking leading in the same industry in Henan Province.

　　"Peanuts, beans, wheat, and cotton, the harvest relies on Green Source." This advertising slogan, widely circulated in the Central Plains, reflects the trust of farmers in the "Green Source" Brand. This resounding and reliable Brand, like its name, has greened the vast fields of the Central Plains and made its due contribution to the development of local agriculture.

　　Huangfan District Xinxin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. was restructured in 2002 based on the original Huangfan District Animal Husbandry General Corporation. Today's Huangfan District Xinxin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. owns six intensive and factory-style pig farms, one 50,000-ton annual feed processing plant, one vegetable oil plant, and one meat processing plant, as well as supporting facilities for live pig export and domestic sales, forming a production, supply, and sales integrated production and operation mode.

　　The company's annual output of live pigs is 75,000, and it provides 20,000 breeding pigs annually. It supplies 35,000 live pigs to Hong Kong annually, accounting for one-sixth of Henan Province's supply to Hong Kong. The company has been named the "Advanced Unit for Live Pig Supply to Hong Kong" by the Henan Provincial Grain, Oil, and Food Import and Export Company for 10 consecutive years. In 1997, it was named the "Advanced Animal Husbandry Industrialization Breeding Enterprise" by the Henan Provincial Government, and was named a "National Agricultural Reclamation Top 100 Excellent Seed Enterprise" by the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1999, it was named a provincial-level "Civilized Unit" by the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. The produced pigs and pork products were named "Harmless Agricultural Products" by the Henan Provincial Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau. The "Fanqu" brand breeding pigs produced by this company were awarded the title of Henan Famous Brand Agricultural Products in 2004.

　　As one of the star enterprises, Huangfan District Tianying Cylinder Liner Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise in Henan Province and the largest compressor cylinder liner and ship cylinder liner Manufacturer in Henan Province, with over 50 years of production history. It currently has 400 employees, with engineering and technical personnel accounting for 25%. The company covers an area of 130,000 square meters, with more than 250 major equipment, and a registered capital of 7.3 million yuan. It has strong Technology, a complete management organization, and complete physical and chemical, metrological, and testing means. It has passed the ISO9002 international quality system certification and China Classification Society factory certification. It is a first-class advanced enterprise in Henan Province, and was one of the first to receive the title of "Clean and Civilized Factory" from the Ministry of Petrochemical Industry, and won the Henan Provincial Quality Management Award.

　　The "Tianying" brand diesel engine cylinder liners produced by the company using centrifugal casting technology are widely used in shipbuilding and power generation industries. The company's independently developed RTA58φ580mm high-power marine diesel engine cylinder liner passed the technical appraisal organized by the Henan Provincial Science and Technology Department, and all indicators meet the requirements of ZBU05005-89, winning the second prize of scientific and technological progress awarded by the Henan Provincial People's Government. The company's thin-walled liner technology for repairing compressor cylinder bodies fills a national gap and has been praised by the State Council Development Center as the "Best in China." "Tianying" brand cylinder liners are sold to 28 provinces and cities across the country, and more than 500 fertilizer plants, oil refineries, and shipyards.

　　With the revitalization of agriculture, industry, commerce, and animal husbandry, Huangfan District Farm's culture, education, transportation, and medical care have all made significant progress. The annual power supply is 27.05 million kilowatt-hours; the per capita housing area in the farm headquarters is 25.2 square meters, with a brick and tile rate of 100%; the household gas rate is over 70%; the tap water penetration rate is over 80%; the cable television coverage rate is over 90%, and employees can generally watch more than 20 channels; 5,000 Mobiles and fixed-line Tel have entered ordinary households; the broadband information network has built a bridge for information exchange between the farm and the world; high-end commodities such as computers, motorcycles, and sedans have entered the homes of employees, and the vast number of cadres and employees are moving towards a more affluent goal.

　　In the face of the new situation, Huangfan District Farm is constructing new development advantages and planning new measures for the future: further strengthening the foundation of agriculture, accelerating the pace of industrial development, implementing the leading-driven strategy and industrialization strategy, playing the tune of efficient agriculture, and singing the song of industrial revitalization.