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

　　Time flies.

　　Along with the tremendous changes of the times, and through hardship and adversity, the Huangfan District Farm in Henan Province has weathered the storms and gone through a difficult yet extraordinary 55-year development history. 55 years have passed in a flash.

　　Over the past 55 years, through the concerted efforts of several generations of agricultural reclamation workers, the Huangfan District Farm has grown from nothing to something substantial, from small to large, and from weak to strong. It has developed into a large-scale, Class-A, state-owned agricultural reclamation enterprise in the province, with a land area of 98 square kilometers, 102,000 mu of cultivated land, a total population of 30,200, 15,000 employees, 28 administrative and public service units, one regimental-level armed department, more than 1,200 individual businesses and privately owned enterprises, and 13 Zhoukou City and Xihua County on-site units. A beautiful environment, fresh air, complete infrastructure, comprehensive service functions, suitable for people to live and even leisure sightseeing small town, has begun to appear in front of people.

　　55 years of long journey, 55 years of hard work, 55 years of forging ahead despite difficulties, 55 years of dramatic changes in the river.

　　Having experienced the vicissitudes of life, the Huangfan District, faced with the lush green plains and the vibrant new look of the Huangfan District, looking back on the past and contemplating the present, who would believe this is the once desolate Huangfan District? People will naturally not forget the past of the Huangfan District, the history of the Huangfan District will be engraved in the hearts of the people of the Huangfan District...

　　In June 1938, after the invading Japanese army occupied Kaifeng, a major town in eastern Henan Province, it launched a major westward advance, threatening Zhengzhou and Wuhan. Using the pretext of preventing the Japanese army, the Nationalist government used water as soldiers, and brazenly blew up the Yellow River dike at Huayuankou in Zhengzhou. The surging yellow water surged thousands of miles, turning the vast plains into a swamp. In Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces, 44 counties with 893,000 people died, and 12 million people were displaced. By 1946, when the Yellow River embankment was closed, the yellow water had flooded for eight full years. During the eight years, the land in eastern Henan suffered from years of famine and widespread starvation, artificially creating a "Huangfan District" of 54,000 square kilometers.

　　“Huangfan District”, a symbol of shame.

　　“Huangfan District”, a synonym for suffering.

　　“For hundreds of miles, no smoke rises, only yellow sand covers the empty city, no path, wild grass, foxes and rabbits run, the swamp reeds and toads sing”, this is the true portrayal of the Huangfan District after the disaster.

　　After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Party and the government attached importance to the reclamation work in the Huangfan District. In February 1950, the Central Government established the Huangfan District Revitalization Committee and set up an office in Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province—the Huangfan District Revitalization Bureau. Special funds were allocated by the state to begin the "revitalization" movement for the benefit of future generations.

　　The revitalization work achieved remarkable results and received the commendation of Premier Zhou Enlai. After listening to the report on the revitalization situation, Zhou Enlai instructed that after the completion of the revitalization work, the land could be distributed to farmers on a per-household basis. If there were more people than land, farmers could not finish the division, so a large farm could be built in the Huangfan District! Thus, under the care of the Central Government and the Henan Provincial Government, after a short period of preparation, the Huangfan District Farm was officially established in January 1951.

　　The Huangfan District Farm was born, and this land covered with reeds and mugwort was awakened by a group of pioneering people who dared to fight against the heavens and the earth. 194 reclamation team members gathered from all parts of the motherland to the Huangfan District, carrying the trust of the Party and the people, opened the prelude to arduous entrepreneurship and conquest of the wasteland. At that time, there was no land, no house, and the living and working environment was harsh, “a cup of tea, half a cup of mud, thin noodle soup with sand at the bottom. In winter, there was no place to keep warm, and in summer, there was no place to stay cool.” This is a portrayal of the life of the reclamation team members at that time. However, the hardships could not deter the brave and fearless reclamation team members. They used the sky as their roof, the ground as their bed, lived in straw sheds, burned reeds, carried forward the spirit of Nanniwan, relied on a few old machines, a few cooking pots, fought against the wind and sand, sowed in summer and harvested in autumn, used their hardworking hands to cultivate piece after piece of fertile land, and used their youth to write a magnificent picture scroll.

　　In May 1951, the Huangfan District Farm ushered in a mechanized harvest season after its establishment, and all the manpower and material resources of the farm were concentrated on launching a large-scale harvest campaign. That year, 1.76 million kilograms of wheat were harvested and stored. The average yield was 210 kilograms per mu, nearly twice as high as the surrounding villages.

　　Recalling the glorious years of the past, history will not forget, the Republic will not forget, on this boiling land of the Huangfan District, batches of excellent agricultural reclamation workers used their wisdom to develop, create, and consolidate the newly born state-owned mechanized farm, and used the spirit of self-reliance and hard work of agricultural reclamation to forge the brilliance of the Huangfan District. In 1965, the Huangfan District 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 Huangfan District 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 Huangfan District Farm, batch after batch of outstanding agricultural reclamation workers have forged the immortal brilliance of the Huangfan District with the spirit of self-reliance and hard work. However, due to poor natural conditions, several changes in affiliation, insufficient investment, and excessive burden, especially after entering the 1990s, the national socio-economic system has undergone significant changes, and the Huangfan District Farm, as a typical old state-owned large enterprise, has been plagued by the rigid systems and mechanisms brought about by the inertia of the long-term planned economic system, and the self-enclosed and conservative nature caused by its self-contained social ecology, causing the Huangfan District Farm, which once had much glory, to lag behind the tide of the market economy and gradually decline. By the end of 1997, the total losses had reached 24.48 million yuan.

　　The Huangfan District Farm, with more than 10,000 employees, has reached the brink of survival!

　　What to do? Where is the way out for the people of the Huangfan District? 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 decided to change the backward appearance of the farm through gradual deepening of reforms and use broader, deeper, and more forceful reform measures to revitalize the Huangfan District Farm.

　　The Huangfan District farm's party and government leadership used the "three advantages" standard, abandoning outdated practices, reforming and innovating, working hard, and keeping up with the times. They used reform to seek survival and development, solving the difficulties and problems encountered in their progress through reform. Primarily implementing a land lease system, they deepened agricultural system reforms; primarily using a shareholding system, they deepened industrial and commercial enterprise reforms; primarily using a public-private partnership model, they deepened education and medical system reforms; and primarily streamlining organizations and introducing a mechanism where responsibilities, powers, and benefits correspond, they deepened reforms in government agencies and administrative institutions. Among these reforms, the most complex and arduous was the agricultural system reform, primarily centered on implementing the land lease system. The Huangfan District farm began implementing the household land contracting system in 1984 and gradually implemented the basic policies of "two self-managements," "four to households," and "six unifications" since 1997. In 2002, the farm vigorously promoted the land lease system. Its main content was that farm-owned land was classified into three types: social security land (employee-status land), leased land, and subsistence land, based on the sub-farm unit. Social security land is where employees raise social security fees through land cultivation. Cultivators are required to engage in high-efficiency cultivation according to the plan. Leased land is determined based on principles favorable to unified planning and layout, and to maximizing the advantages of machinery, technology, capital, and resources; it primarily involves high-quality seed production. The land lease system enabled the overall farm to fundamentally shift from an operational model to an asset management model in agriculture, achieving a historic breakthrough in agricultural production throughout the farm.

　　The reform of the farm's industrial and commercial enterprises mainly focused on shareholding system transformation, gradually moving toward modern company management and operations. In 1998, the farm carried out drastic restructuring of 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 increases as entry points, aiming to reduce the proportion of state-owned shares, enable managers to hold large shares, and increase the proportion of natural person shareholdings. A second restructuring was carried out for 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 improved, burdens were reduced, the sense of responsibility of operators significantly increased, and production and operation showed a positive trend.

　　By 2005, the total gross national product of the farm reached 219.2 million yuan, the total social output value reached 560.2 million yuan, the total agricultural output value reached 160.06 million yuan, the total industrial output value reached 104.34 million yuan, commercial sales reached 50.43 million yuan, the number of pigs in stock was 61,835, the number of pigs slaughtered was 100,264, the number of breeding pigs sold was 10,500, and the agricultural mechanization rate reached over 98%.

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

　　Through storms and winds, the mountains are even more beautiful; after frost, the flowers are even redder. Today's Huangfan District farm is rapidly developing along the path of "cultivation and animal husbandry as the foundation, industrial breakthroughs, technological leadership, management efficiency improvement, structure optimization, innovation encouragement, circulation activation, and overall volume growth." 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 varieties of cotton, grain, and oil crops. Through the development and promotion of new varieties, it drives surrounding farmers to adjust their planting structures, increasing farmers' income and agricultural efficiency. Huangfan District Dishen Seed Industry Co., Ltd. is a modern seed enterprise integrating scientific research and development with production and operation. Established in 1982, it currently has a registered capital of 65.15 million yuan, owns a seed breeding base of 120,000 mu, is a key demonstration unit for the national "seed project," and is among the top 50 seed enterprises nationwide. The company has 67 agricultural technicians, 42 senior and intermediate agronomists, and regularly undertakes national, provincial, and municipal crop variety trials and demonstration projects. The company owns four independently developed varieties and the operating rights for eight new crop varieties. It annually produces and sells over 4 million kilograms of high-quality crop seeds such as wheat, corn, cotton, soybeans, and peanuts, selling to over 100 counties and cities in Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Hubei provinces. Its flagship wheat seed product was awarded "Henan Famous Brand Agricultural Product" by the Henan Provincial Government, the only seed brand in Henan Province to receive this honor.

　　In recent years, the company has continuously improved its management system and adhered to the path of agricultural industrialization, achieving a pattern of "scaled operation, standardized management, and integrated breeding, propagation, and promotion" in seed production and operation. The company has independently developed new wheat varieties Shenmai No. 1 and Shenmai No. 2, new soybean varieties Dishen 21 and Dishen 22, and new cotton varieties Shenmian No. 1 and Shenmian No. 2. Among them, Shenmai No. 2 wheat achieved an average yield of 559.9 kilograms per mu, winning first place in both the 2003-2004 Henan Provincial production trials and the national Huang-Huai region trials.

　　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 undertaken national and provincial cotton regional trials, identifying and selecting a large number of new and superior varieties for the Huang-Huai region and Henan Province, and has received 12 national and provincial awards. The total cotton planting area in the farm is stable at around 80,000 mu. Advanced experiences have been explored, including grain-cotton intercropping, segmented fertilization for cotton, pest control during the cotton egg stage, and rapid double-hand cotton picking, and it has taken the lead in implementing film mulching for cotton planting. In 1985, the national cotton regional trial undertaken by the Huangfan District farm's 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 the surrounding areas. It has demonstrated and promoted more than 70 superior varieties, including Luman No. 1 and Jiman No. 8. In 2000, it was designated by the state as a "high-quality cotton production base." 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 kilograms and a cotton seed processing capacity of 10 million kilograms. Currently, the company has an annual cotton seed production area of 10,000 mu and a hybrid seed production area of 500 mu, becoming a large cotton seed production base in Henan.

　　Currently, Dishen Company's agricultural science institute has become a national cotton regional trial station. In 2004, it undertook 22 national and provincial trials, including transgenic insect-resistant cotton, hybrid cotton, and conventional cotton regional trials and production trials, with 123 participating varieties. The company is steadily moving forward in the development of the cotton seed industry, step by step.

　　Through industrial development and coordinated growth, Huangfan District Farm has achieved rapid economic development by restructuring its assets and innovating its technology. It now owns 13 agricultural enterprises, including fertilizer production, animal husbandry, food processing, and machinery manufacturing. It has been designated by the provincial government as a key leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization. Huangfan District Green Source Chemical Co., Ltd., as one of its star enterprises, was established in the early 1970s. After more than 30 years of rolling development, it has formed an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of ordinary 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 a production base for ordinary superphosphate in Henan Province. The company's leading product, "Green Source" brand ordinary superphosphate, has won the "High-Quality Product" award from the Ministry of Agriculture and has been continuously listed as a "key protected product" and an "exempt product enterprise" by the Henan Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. "Green Source" brand ordinary superphosphate is sold well in more than 200 counties and cities in Henan, Anhui, and Shandong provinces, generating an annual profit of more than 5 million yuan.

　　"Peanuts, beans, wheat, and cotton, a bumper harvest relies on Green Source." This advertising slogan, widely circulated in the Central Plains, reflects the farmers' trust in the "Green Source" Brand. This strong and reliable Brand, just like its name, has greened the vast fields of the Central Plains, making 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, Huangfan District Xinxin Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. has six intensive, 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 transit, forming a production, supply, and sales integrated production and operation model.

　　The company's annual output of live pigs is 75,000, and the annual supply of breeding pigs is 20,000. 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 "Advanced Unit for Hong Kong Live Pig Supply" by the Henan Provincial Grain, Oil, and Food Import and Export Corporation for 10 consecutive years. In 1997, it was named "Advanced Animal Husbandry Industrialization Breeding Enterprise" by the Henan Provincial Government, "National Agricultural Reclamation Top 100 High-quality Seedling Enterprise" by the Ministry of Agriculture, and "Provincial Civilized Unit" by the Henan Provincial Committee and Provincial Government in 1999. The live pigs and pork products produced by the company have been named "Green and Harmless Agricultural Products" by the Henan Provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. The "Panqu" brand breeding pigs produced by this company were awarded the title of Henan Famous Brand Agricultural Product in 2004.

　　As one of the star enterprises, Huangfan District Tianying Cylinder Liner Co., Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise in Henan Province and a manufacturer of compressor cylinder liners and ship cylinder liners in Henan Province, with over 50 years of production history. It has 400 employees, with engineering and technical personnel accounting for 25%. The company covers an area of 130,000 square meters, has more than 250 major pieces of equipment, and registered capital of 7.3 million yuan. It boasts 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 the China Classification Society factory certification. It is a first-class advanced enterprise in Henan Province, has won the title of National Petrochemical Ministry Clean and Civilized Factory, and has 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 shipping, power generation, and other industries. The company's independently developed RTA58φ580mm high-power marine diesel engine cylinder liner has passed the technical appraisal organized by the Henan Provincial Department of Science and Technology, 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 adoption of thin-walled liner repair technology for compressor cylinder bodies has filled a national gap. "Tianying" Brand cylinder liners are sold to 28 provinces and cities and more than 500 fertilizer plants, refineries, and shipyards across the country.

　　With the revitalization of agriculture, industry, commerce, and animal husbandry, Huangfan District Farm has also witnessed significant development in culture, education, transportation, and healthcare. The annual power supply reaches 27.05 million kilowatt-hours; the per capita residential area in the farm headquarters is 25.2 square meters; the gas penetration 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 Mobile 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; commodities such as computers, motorcycles, and cars 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 agricultural foundations, accelerating industrial development, implementing a leading strategy and industrialization strategy, playing the tune of high-efficiency agriculture, and singing the song of industrial revitalization.