How to Develop the Tea Industry in Leiyang City？

Fengtao WANG，Xiaoping ZENG，Xiaolan WU，Yubin LIANG

1.Bureau of Agriculture of Leiyang City，Leiyang 421800，China；2.Agro-technical Station of Huangshi Town in Leiyang City，Leiyang421832，China

1 Introduction

The tea industry was one of the pillar industries in Leiyang City.In the early 1980s，the city had 157 tea plantations，mainly distributed in 10 towns such as Longtang，Zhushi and Zheqiao，with the tea plantation area of2200 ha and annual outputof450 t，and the tea production peaked during this period.In the 1990s，the tea plantationswere affected by natural disasters such as pests and freeze disaster，and the planting area gradually declined.In 2008，the tea planting area was only 900 ha and the annual tea production was only 183 t.Since 2009，under the guidelines of adjusting the agricultural structure and promoting special economic development，Leiyang's tea industry has developed by leaps and bounds，and the planting area has been gradually expanded.Now the city has 1200 ha of tea plantations with annual output of 280 t.At present，themunicipal government is stepping up the research and formulation of relevant supporting policies to develop tea industry，rely on leading industry to promote upgrade of tea industry，and increase farmers'income.

2 Current situation of development of tea industry in Leiyang City

In recent years，Leiyang City has focused on＂Jiangtou tribute tea＂and expanded the scale of production of tea.Now there are three large tea production bases in Longtang Town of this city.Jiangtou Ecological Agriculture Development Co.，Ltd.has 260 ha of old and new tea bases；Haicheng Ecological Agriculture Development Co.，Ltd.has 140 ha of tea plantations；Shuimu Furong Tea House has120 ha of tea plantations.Jiangtou Ecological Agriculture Development Co.，Ltd.eliminates some old processing plants，and buildsa new standardized tea processing plantwith the area of2000m2.It introduces the latest automated production lines of famous and high quality flat green tea，with annual processing capacity of300 t.Leiyang hasa long history of tea cultivation，with profound tea culture heritage.Jiangtou tribute tea has enjoyed awidespread reputation since ancient times，and itwas as a tribute tea as early as the Tang Dynasty.In recentyears，due to industrial development，the production scale of Jiangtou tribute tea has been gradually expanded and the quality has also been continuously improved.In 2013，it won＂China Famous Tea Gold Award＂in China（Shanghai）International Tea Fair.In August 2008，Leiyang Jiangtou Tea Association was established，with more than 180 registeredmembers.It integrates all tea production forces in Longtang Town，and establishes the industrial development idea of＂association＋company＋base＋farmer＂.The output value of667m3of tea plantation base belonging to the association exceeds8000 yuan.The original variety of tea in Leiyang City wasmainly Fuyun 6.Now the new high quality varieties include Fuding Dahao，F(xiàn)uding Dabai，Xiangbolu，Zhuyeqi and Baihaozao，with improved seed coverage of 40%.In 2008，Hunan Tea Research Institute was invited to be the technical cooperation unit for Leiyang Jiangtou Tea Association.It offers full guidance in tea plantation planning，new product introduction，cultivation and tea processing technology.In the farming season，it timely publishes free technical data to tea farmers.It uses insecticidal lamps，yellow sticky card，and other green prevention and control techniques，to improve the yield and quality of Jiangtou tea.In 2011，Jiangtou Ecological Agriculture Development Co.，Ltd.declared＂High Quality Tea Processing Project of Jiangtou Tribute Tea Plantation＂and obtained 7.86 million yuan of support fund from the National Development and Reform Commission.In 2012，it declared＂150 Tons of Jiangtou Tribute Tea Processing and Expansion Project＂，and obtained 1.95 million yuan from Agriculture Development Office of Leiyang City.All relevant departments have offered special policy support for the projects related to Jiangtou tribute tea.

3 The main problems in the development of tea industry in Leiyang City

（i）Small scale ofhigh quality tea plantation.The area of tea production base in Leiyang City isnot large，the scale ofhigh-quality tea plantations is small，andmostof tea varieties are old varieties introduced in the 1970s－1980s.The tea produced is difficult to meet the famous tea processing needs，and the current improved tea plantations only account for 40%of total tea plantations in the city，indicating that there is still plenty of room for quality improvement.（ii）Insufficient brand awareness.Although there is＂Jiangtou tribute tea＂brand in Leiyang City，it is not famous and fails to become a brand-name product in Hunan Province.Due to the differences in views of enterprises，the integration of resources needs to be led by government.At present，it is still hard to build famous brands and industry groups.（iii）Inadequate funding input.Building 667m2of high-standard tea plantations will cost about five yearsand 8000 yuan from planting to picking，so the ordinary tea plantation lacks funding in face of high input.Although in recent years the government of Leiyang City has invested more than 10 million yuan，it can notmeet the actual needs of the development of the tea industry，so that there is no economy of scale.（iv）Extensive tea plantation management.Most of the farmers ignoremanagementand only consider tea cultivation links，lacking follow-upmanagementand protection funds.They still live at themercy of the elements，and there is a large proportion of low-yielding tea plantation.The infrastructure of tea plantations is still backward，and the resistance to natural disasters is not strong.（v）Rising labor costs.There is a clear trend of older age and low quality among workers，and the shortage of labor resourcesmakes the labor costs continue to rise，making it difficult to adapt to standardizedmodern tea production requirements.This issue is particularly prominent in the picking season.（vi）Outdatedmechanical equipment.At present，only three leading enterprises in Leiyang City have developed the planting procedures and product standards.The processing technology lags behind inmost small tea plantations，and the tea-makingmachinery is obsolete，leading to unstable quality of finished products.There is almostno machinery in picking which requires a lot of labor.

4 Development orientation of tea industry in Leiyang City

（i）Development goals.By 2020，the tea planting areawill reach 3400 ha，the annual outputwill reach 1400 t，and the clonal improved seed coveragewill reachmore than 80%；it aims to create one provincial leading enterprise with annual processing capacity ofmore than 1000 t，annual output value of 200 billion yuan and annual revenue of more than 40 million yuan；it strives for the province'swell-known trademarks and national geographical indication.（ii）Development layout.It takes actions that suit local circumstances，reasonably adjust structure，and optimize the industrial layout.The new main tea producing areasmainly include 11 towns（Longtang，Dashi，Zheqiao，Gongping， Xiaoshui，Mashui，Zhuxiang，Daozi，Donghu，Shaming and Liangyuan）.The new expanded area of tea plantations is 2200 ha，accounting formore than 90%of total tea plantation area.（iii）The establishment of the park.The city establishes the tea industrialpark in Longtang Town，and orderly guides land transfer according to the law.The park achieves land transfer rate of over 90%，implements＂association＋company＋base＋farmers＂mode，and uses the forms of large household contracting and other forms to integrate all forces and gather industrialadvantages.Ituses the government-led mode andmarket operation to build brand and vigorously develop industry，so that tea industry truly becomes one of the pillar agricultural industries in Leiyang City.

5 Recommendations

（i）Improving the quality of tea products.It is necessary to implement the standardized production，improve regional layout and planning，and strengthen the building of tea industry bases.However，it should be noted that the introduction of considerable famous high quality tea resources from other places can easily lead to similar taste of tea products and homogenization competition in themarket.It is necessary to focus on the tea germplasm breeding to ensure the large-scale upgrading of varieties for tea plantations.The new varieties cultivated locally have better adaptability and unique competitive advantage，which will help create a brand.（ii）Improving the facility conditions of tea plantations.The tea plantation base construction is the basis of tea industry development，and the tea field construction must be in accordance with planning to facilitate subsequent management.According to the comprehensive requirements of ditches，drains，roadsand electricity，it is necessary to integrate the water conservancy facilities，transform high-standard farmland，enhance rural biogas project，and increase agriculture-related project funding，tomake drainage unobstructed and road layout reasonable；introduce new，suitable and efficient farm machinery，improve the level of seedling cultivation，and build high-standard demonstration tea plantations.（iii）Actively carrying out technical training.Based on＂new occupational peasant cultivation project＂，＂migrant training＂and other projects，it is necessary to carry out technical training，organizemanagement and technical personnel to learn the advanced managementexperience and success secret aswell as advanced industrial technology and skills in the domestic famous tea enterprises；strengthen the training of professionals，strengthen scientific and technological services，and carry out various forms of technology services；actively carry out tea activities and strengthen tea business training.（iv）Unifying brand packaging of tea.According to market needs，it is necessary to choose pollution-free tea product packagingmaterials in strict conformity with the requirements of National Food Safety and Health Law.There is a need to perform unified packaging of Jiangtou tribute tea，improve packaging quality and practicality，focus on product quality and safety，increase themarket share of the product and step up publicity efforts to promote Jiangtou tribute tea brand.（v）Promoting amusement and travel development.At present，only Jiangtou Ecological Agriculture Development Co.，Ltd.is the provincial four-star leisure farm in Leiyang City，receiving 28000 tourists each year，and other tea leisure and tourism projectsare in the initial stage.Leiyang should focus on promoting the tea culture，integrate leisure and tourism resources，continue to expand the scale of tea industry leisure farms，and actively develop tea tourism.（vi）Establishinge-commerce platform.It is necessary to maintain the marketing capacity and production and processing capacity in order to play market-oriented effects.On the basis of store marketing，it is necessary to focus on developing e-commerce platform，implement online trading，and use television，newspapers，the Internet and other news media to improve the Jiangtou tribute tea brand awareness.There is also a need to develop the logistics platform and increase storage capacity.（vii）Building standard improved seed nursery.On the basis of tea varieties with the unique local characteristics，the new tea plantations in the city should increase the area of improved tea nursery and augment the annual output tomeet the new seedling needs.（viii）Strengthening the organization and leadership.It is necessary to setup the Municipal Tea Industry Office which develops industry developmentplan and urges all relevant departments and township offices to carry out the work.It is necessary to support tea processing enterprises and supervise and assess the township tea industry office.（ix）Strengthening supportive policies.It is necessary to offer financial awards and discount loans for the links that can promote processing capacity，productdesign and brand building；conduct tea policy insurance pilot work to encourage businesses and households to participate in agricultural insurance and support the developmentof tea industry；accelerate the pace of certification and provide preferential tax policies to optimize the investment environment of tea industry.（x）Strengthening safety supervision.It is necessary to regularly carry out the city's tea testing，establish quality tracing files to strengthen quality and safety supervision，and publicize the testing results to ensure the city's tea production safety.

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