Meeting the Leader Who’s All About Farmer Success
I’ve had the chance to meet Fu Gongxing, Vice Chairman of the County Political Consultative Conference and Party Secretary of Dingcheng Town, three times now, and each encounter drove home just how serious he is about lifting local farmers out of the cycle of low income. Let me set the scene for you!
The first time? I found him at the construction site of the Dingcheng Town Farmers’ Income Increase Sheep Breeding Demonstration Base, chatting a mile a minute to visiting officials about this wild new model for helping farmers earn more. He was animated, pointing at the half-built sheep sheds, and you could tell every word came from a place of genuine care.
Second meeting? At the construction site of Dayong Village, a sanitation demonstration village. He had his arm around Chen Shixin, the 70-something old village Party secretary, and they were geeking out over the blueprint for turning Dayong into a coconut-focused village that would pad farmers’ wallets. It wasn’t just a plan—they were already talking about how to get every household involved.
The third time? He’d just gotten back from a day out in the villages, and you could tell by the dirt on his shoes that he hadn’t just been driving around checking boxes. He’d been in the fields, talking to farmers, seeing firsthand what was working and what wasn’t. That’s the kind of leader you want when it comes to fixing rural income issues!
Dingcheng Town covers 145 square kilometers, with a population of 95,695—60,013 of whom are rural farmers. And let’s be real, the odds are stacked against these folks: they’re not getting more land, the value of their crops hasn’t gone up much, and they’re stuck using old farming techniques. Plus, the agricultural supply chain is way too short. But here’s the kicker: Secretary Fu said the government wasn’t just throwing money at the problem. They were “weaving a fishing net” so farmers could catch their own fish. Intrigued? I was too.
“Weaving the Net”: Ditching Handouts for Long-Term Success
Government Builds the Infrastructure, Farmers Bring the Work Ethic
Let’s break down what “weaving the fishing net” actually means. Secretary Fu told me it’s all about ditching the old “giving a man a fish” model—you know, just handing out cash or supplies that run out fast. Instead, the government is building the tools farmers need to succeed, and farmers are putting in the work to learn skills and earn their rewards. It’s genius, right?
Take the sheep breeding demonstration base in Wuxing Village, Pinghe Committee. The government is funding the construction of sheep sheds, but instead of just giving farmers sheep, they’re letting farmers work on the construction and learn sheep-raising skills. And here’s the cool part: their pay is sheep! When it’s time to settle up, the value of their work is calculated, and they get sheep worth a little more than that amount. So they walk away with both practical skills and a start to their own flock. No handouts, just hard work that pays off long-term.
Visiting officials were totally on board with this model, and honestly, who can blame them? It’s not just about a one-time boost—it’s about giving farmers the ability to start their own businesses. Secretary Fu said if the pilot works, they’re rolling this out across central Dingcheng. Imagine: no matter if you’re rich or poor, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort, you can earn sheep by working or growing grass to trade. The government builds the net, and it’s up to the farmers to catch as much as they can.
Turning Local Strengths Into Income Goldmines
Building “One Village, One Product” to Shift Mindsets
Dingcheng Town already has some killer agricultural brands that are famous across Hainan—things like Tanli cherry tomatoes, Acai peanut oil, and Qiongbao food products. These are already bringing in cash for local farmers, but Secretary Fu wants to take it a step further with the “one village, one product” initiative.
There are already some awesome examples:
- Shuichongpo, Xunya, Xi’an Xialiao, and Longzhou Xiatun villages have scaled up sandalwood and agarwood planting
- Meitai Yushipo Village has a unique sericulture industry that’s one of a kind in Ding’an
But this isn’t just about making money in the short term. The real goal is to get farmers thinking differently—moving away from the old “plant a lot, earn a little” mindset and towards market-focused, high-efficiency farming. Secretary Fu said the government is using these successful models to nudge farmers away from waiting for handouts, and instead towards joining professional cooperatives.
They’re doing this by:
- Spreading the word about successful cooperative models
- Supporting big, successful farming households to lead the way
- Providing agricultural tech support to make farming more efficient
- Setting up demonstration cooperatives to show what’s possible
The idea is to let farmers share resources, learn from each other, and start focusing on crops and products that the market actually wants. No more wasting time and land on crops that barely cover costs!
Maximizing Every Resource to Boost Income
Tailoring Strategies to Different Areas
Dingcheng Town isn’t a one-size-fits-all place, and Secretary Fu’s team knows it. They’ve split the town into three areas, each with its own income-boosting plan:
- Central Dingcheng: Focused on poultry farming—chickens, ducks, geese, and other birds. Pinghe Committee alone has three goose-raising cooperatives that each raise over 10,000 geese a year, pulling in cash for dozens of local families.
- Southern Dingcheng: All about large-scale crop farming. Places like Xiulongkeng Village have built big taro-growing bases that are now go-to examples of how to turn farming into a profitable business.
- Northern Dingcheng: A mix of farming, handicrafts, and services. There are over 200 farmer construction teams, plus thousands of trucks and vans that farmers use to make money during off-seasons. And local factories like Hengtai and Liansu, plus hotels and teahouses, have created jobs for over 5,000 migrant workers from the town.
The numbers don’t lie: from January to September 2026, Dingcheng’s rural economic income hit 375.33 million yuan, a 19.3% jump from the year before. Farmer per capita income reached 6,062 yuan, up 15.3%. That’s not just a blip—that’s real progress!
Turning “Waste” Land Into Income Opportunities
One of my favorite parts of Secretary Fu’s plan is how they’re squeezing every bit of value out of land that most people would ignore. Dingcheng has a lot of people and not a lot of farmland, but there are tons of unused bits and pieces—edge lands, abandoned fields, even the ridges between fish ponds—that are just waiting to be put to use.
Take Pinghe Committee’s fish ponds: they have thousands of acres of ponds, and the ridges between them were just sitting empty. The town’s plan? Bring in professional growers from Guangdong to plant kumquats on those ridges. Local farmers can work there to learn the skills, and their pay will be kumquat plants worth the same as their wages. Then, when the holidays roll around, they can sell those potted kumquats for a nice chunk of change. It’s a win-win: using unused land, teaching farmers new skills, and giving them a new income stream.
Over in Dayong Village, they’re using sanitation demonstration village funds and coconut seedlings from the forestry bureau to plant golden coconuts on 100 acres of unused land around farmers’ houses. Sure, it’ll take a couple years for the trees to bear fruit, but when they do, farmers can sell the coconuts and use the prettier village scenery to draw in tourists. That’s thinking ahead!
And in Xunya and Longling villages, they’re using poverty alleviation funds to plant 700 acres of bamboo along the villages. It’s not just good for the environment—it’s a long-term income source too, since bamboo can be used for everything from construction to crafts.
My Takeaway: This Is How You Empower Farmers
After spending time with Secretary Fu and seeing these projects in action, I’m convinced this is the right way to tackle rural income issues. Too often, governments throw money at problems and call it a day, but Dingcheng is doing something different: they’re building the foundation, teaching farmers the skills, and then stepping back to let farmers take the lead.
It’s not easy—changing mindsets takes time, and not every pilot will be a home run. But the energy here is contagious. Farmers aren’t just waiting for help anymore; they’re rolling up their sleeves, learning new skills, and figuring out how to make their land and their work pay off. If more places took this “weave the net, let farmers fish” approach, we’d see a lot more rural communities thriving.
Honestly, I can’t wait to go back in a year and see how these projects have grown. I bet those sheep sheds will be full of healthy flocks, those kumquat ridges will be covered in fruit, and those coconut trees will be starting to tower over the village. And best of all, the farmers will be the ones reaping the rewards.
