As early as the 1990s, farmers from Fenjie town – located in Taixing city in East China's Jiangsu province – began to promote the cultivation of sweet peas.
Due to the constraints of the seasons, many farmers had to sell their peas at low prices to ensure their freshness. Meanwhile, manufacturers were faced with supply and demand asymmetry in view of the varying sites, orders and manpower.
In recent years, Fenjie town has invested over 2 million yuan ($286,626) to cultivate and promote its sweet peas, introducing proactive policies such as planting land transfer subsidies and large-scale planting subsidies.
The town is slowly mapping out a new agricultural production and management model, with large-scale planting, centralized management and coordinated sales.
What's more, it has invested 500,000 yuan on a digital model for sweet pea seedling cultivation and production.
Fenjie deputy head He Ronghua explained that the town has implemented targeted and precise support initiatives for different farmers. It has also established an assistance model, enabling one Party member to guide five low-income households and for 10 farmers to increase their incomes.
It is estimated that the output value of Fenjie town's sweet peas in 2022 will top 45 million yuan. To date, it has established a pea processing unit and has developed a sweet pea freshly squeezed juice, sweet pea paste and other products.