Gaoliu Town, Qingzhou City: Collaborative Effort of Four Parties to Forge a Model of Circular Agriculture

In recent years, Gaoliu Town, Qingzhou City, Weifang, has leveraged the construction of the Weifang National Agricultural Comprehensive Zone to develop an integrated model for the treatment of manure and straw waste in Xishuiqu Village. Guided by Party building initiatives, the model promotes the integrated development of Party branches, cooperatives led by Party members, supply and marketing cooperatives, rural communities, and credit cooperatives (Weifang Bank), gathering service, organization, operation, and financial advantages. This approach effectively addresses a series of "stubborn problems" in rural development, such as soil compaction, agricultural non-point source pollution, and the treatment of manure and straw waste, creating a full-service chain from cultivation, planting, and management to harvest, storage, and sales. It realizes a win-win situation for agricultural strength, rural beauty, and villagers' wealth, paving a new path for the development of circular agriculture.

Gaoliu Town fully utilizes the leading role of the town government, establishing a special task force to push forward the initiative. Monthly joint meetings are convened to timely coordinate and solve emerging issues, with a focus on creating four platforms:

Agricultural Service Platform: Led by the supply and marketing cooperative, with the participation of cooperatives, communities, and Weifang Bank, this platform aims to construct the Xishuiqu Village agricultural service center. The center integrates agricultural technical guidance, agricultural supplies, convenience supermarkets, practice bases, and farmer schools, forming a "three-kilometer agricultural service living circle."

Smart Agriculture Development Platform: Collaboratively established by cooperatives, the supply and marketing cooperative, and Fengben Bio, this platform builds a modern agricultural park with 500 greenhouses, applying scientific management in seed selection, soil testing and improvement, and daily greenhouse maintenance.

Zero Pollution Village Promotion and Demonstration Platform: Seizing the opportunity to build a zero-pollution village demonstration area in Gaoliu Town, the community and cooperative work together to implement an integrated treatment model for manure and straw waste and a "three bins and two boxes" garbage classification method. This method turns crop straw and household garbage into fertilizer and enzymes, benefiting agricultural production. For production waste, straw storage points are established throughout the town, each equipped with garbage classification guides and smart monitoring systems to direct local waste sorting. Fresh straw is fermented on-site into fertilizer, while dry straw is transported to the Gaoliu Town Resource Utilization Center, mixed with manure, and fermented into fertilizer. Members who provide straw can use the fertilizer for free.

Old Greenhouse Renovation: With full respect for members' wishes, cooperatives lead the modernization and park-like planning of greenhouse areas. After renovation, the traditional model of constructing greenhouses through mutual land leasing among farmers is changed. Cooperatives, at reasonable prices, collectively transfer farmers' land for unified modern park-like planning. The newly planned ninth-generation greenhouses are allocated to farmers with high planting intentions and technical skills through bidding, maximizing land benefits.

To enhance agricultural technology services, cooperatives establish a research and development testing center to provide members with free soil testing. Using the farmyard manure produced from manure and straw and organic fertilizers supplied by the supply and marketing cooperative, the cooperatives timely "unbind" the soil to solve soil compaction issues and improve the quality of fruits and vegetables. During the growth of fruits and vegetables, Fengben Bio and the supply and marketing cooperative provide follow-up agricultural technical guidance and green agricultural supplies, ensuring precise and effective use of fertilizers and pesticides, delivering "timely rain" to members.

Additionally, new farmer training is emphasized. Utilizing farmer schools and rural revitalization lecture halls as the main platforms, monthly farmer training sessions are held to explain higher-level favorable policies for farmers, handling of approval matters, agricultural planting techniques, etc., cultivating a batch of new professional farmers knowledgeable in policy, technology, and management.

The cooperative has established a Vegetable Seedling and Sales Center, leveraging collective advantages to unify the purchase of members' vegetables, addressing the issue of weak bargaining power when individual households negotiate prices. The cooperative's Research and Development Testing Center conducts tests for pesticide and agricultural residue on the purchased vegetables. Non-compliant vegetables are promptly returned, ensuring food safety "on the tip of the tongue." For storage, the supply and marketing cooperative coordinates with the collective efforts of Xishuiqu Village to consolidate land and buildings, planning to establish a constant temperature and atmosphere-controlled logistics center that integrates storage, cold chain logistics, and packaging, providing comprehensive protection for the vegetables. The cooperative has registered the "Xishuiqu Agriculture" vegetable trademark, specializing in green organic vegetables and implementing a corporate, branded operation to open both online and offline sales channels.