Stevia spells sweet success for farmers in Inner Mongolia
An agricultural cooperative in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region is helping defeat poverty and bringing benefits to farmers through cultivation of an exotic natural sweetener.
The cooperative began growing stevia plants in Jalaid Banner about a decade ago and has since expanded the cultivation area from 1,214 hectares to 4,047 hectares.
Stevia, which is used as a sweetener in Coca-Cola Life, “is natural, very sweet and low in calories”, said Wang Gang, the banner’s head of poverty alleviation.
“The seedlings are so thin and tender that no machine can handle them well, so we employ local farmers to plant them,” he added.
Raw stevia leaves are shipped to processing factories in Jiangxi province and then exported to the United States, Japan and South Korea.
China is home to the largest stevia cultivation area in the world, accounting for 90 percent of the world’s total. Yet the domestic market is growing slowly, according to the China Stevia Association.
“Stevia is a niche product, so its price fluctuates greatly,” said Du Wenyi, chairman of the cooperative. “But more often than not stevia is more profitable than corn, the parameter we commonly use to decide if a crop is worth cultivating.”
Upgraded industrial infrastructure is bearing fruit in Jalaid Banner. Last year, the average annual income of its 1,534 farmers was 30,000 yuan ($4,700), a tenfold increase from that of 2012.
The association also helps disabled rural workers by enrolling them in a dividend program and assigning them lightweight jobs on farms.
“Stevia is one of four crops that give us an edge over competitors and creates stable, long-term benefits for the poor,” Du said, adding that the other three are rice, soybeans and marigolds.
China has set a target to eliminate extreme poverty by 2020. This year, the leading poverty alleviation office called for integrated efforts nationwide, including upgrading rural industrial infrastructure to prevent those lifted out of poverty from sliding back into difficulties.
Wang Xiaoyu contributed to this story.