Laishui hemp walnut is a geographical indication protected product. Laishui Ma Walnut is a geographical indication certification trademark.
“Small walnuts are planted in front of and behind the house. Farmers don’t need to find a market, buyers come to their homes on their own initiative.” Recently, when the author was interviewing in Xi'anzhuang Village, Loucun Township, Laishui County, Hebei Province, I heard the crowd singing such a jingle.
Xi'an Zhuang Village is located in the deep mountainous area in the northwest of Laishui. The special mountain climate and soil conditions here are most suitable for the cultivation of hemp walnuts. Villager Sun Yue started grafting and planting hemp walnuts in 2002, and now has more than 100 trees, including more than a dozen varieties such as red lion head, white lion head, official hat, tiger head, and son hat. This year, only hemp walnuts are earning income. It can reach more than 500,000 yuan. Li Xuemei, the village party branch, told the author that now every household in the village grows hemp walnuts, and it has become a famous local village specializing in hemp walnut cultivation.
A pair of sesame walnuts, sold for 50,000 yuan. Sesame walnuts are a specialty of Hebei, commonly known as "playing walnuts". Because of their beautiful shells and unique fruit shapes, they are often made into exquisite handicrafts or directly used as food for middle-aged and elderly people. The history of hemp walnuts as a toy for people to relax and activate their muscles can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty admired hemp walnuts very much, which attracted many princes and ministers to follow suit and come to Nan'an Village in Loucun Township, Laishui. , Hugezhuang and other villages purchased it. Since then, the hemp walnuts in Loucun Township, Laishui have become famous throughout the country.
Li Wang of Nan'an Village grafted a white lion's head in 2006 and grafted it into a pair this year. Due to its large size and good appearance, it was bought by an antique shop merchant in Beijing as soon as it was planted. I fell in love with it and bought it for 50,000 yuan. During the interview with the author, he pointed at a "Nangang Stone" in the yard and said excitedly that this tree had been grafted for 4 years and had sold walnuts for more than 100,000 yuan this year. Good economic benefits have stimulated farmers' enthusiasm for developing hemp walnuts. According to Liu Baohua of the township, the cultivation of hemp walnuts in this township has grown from only 5 villages including Nan'anzhuang, Xi'anzhuang and Chang'anzhuang to 22 in the entire township. Villages such as Nan'anzhuang Village had a per capita income of less than 1,000 yuan at that time. Since the development of Ma Walnut, the per capita income has now reached more than 20,000 yuan.
Specialty industries radiate to the entire county
Laishui hilly areas account for more than 80% of the county's hilly areas. The soil quality and climate conditions in the county's hilly areas are basically the same as those in Loucun Township. Since 2003, the county's industrial structure has been adjusted, focusing on the development of hemp walnuts as a characteristic industry for farmers to get rich. On the one hand, we set a good example for Loucun Township by inviting forest and fruit technical experts to give lectures and provide on-site guidance to help farmers solve technical problems such as fertilization, pest control, grafting, and pruning. In a few years, more than 100 farmer soil experts have been trained. , the scale of planting hemp walnuts in Loucun Township has continued to grow, and it has become the walnut planting base of Laishui County. On the other hand, farmers from other towns and villages are invited to visit and study in Loucun Township, and through the experience of large growers, they can radiate and drive the development of other towns and villages. At the same time, varieties are constantly being improved, from more than 10 varieties to more than 30 varieties now. Moreover, the improved varieties have finer patterns, harder wood, and more beautiful shapes.
The county has also established the "Guanglin Hemp Walnut Professional Cooperative" to provide growers with one-stop services before, during and after production, and to provide policy and financial support to hemp walnut growers. Considerable economic income, stable sales channels and a series of protective measures have enabled the walnut industry to gradually become bigger and stronger, from the original village of Lou Village to more than 10 towns including Yongyang, Dongwenshan and Shiting Town. Townships.
Drive the development of related industries
Laishui Ma Walnut not only makes money by selling walnuts, but also drives the development of other industries. The author saw at the small market at the entrance of Hugezhuang Village in Loucun Township that the hotels and restaurants here were full of people. In a hotel called Shuiyuexuan, the boss Long Yi from Beijing told the author that since August, he has been doing walnut business here, eating and living here, and there are hundreds of merchants like him every day. A Tianjin businessman next to him answered: Not only are we selling walnuts this season, we also hire people here to pick up the walnuts from our place in spring and winter. They make money here three seasons a year, and other incidental incomes in these villages also need to be paid. Tens of millions of dollars.
The protected origin of Laishui Ma Walnut (Yesanpo Ma Walnut) geographical indication product is the administrative area currently under the jurisdiction of Laishui County, Baoding City, Hebei Province.