Taiwan Miaoli County is located in the southern coastal area of Taiwan Island, adjacent to Hsinchu County to the east, to the west of the Taiwan Strait, to the south of Taichung City, and to the north of Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County. Dahu Township is located in the south of Miaoli County, covering an area of 90 square kilometers. It is surrounded by mountains and has an altitude of 300-700 meters. It is not affected by the northeast monsoon. It has a mild climate and sufficient rainfall. Coupled with breakthroughs in production technology such as fertilizer management and variety improvement, the strawberries produced are of excellent quality.
Dahu Township is the place with the largest strawberry production, the largest planting area and density, and the most advanced planting technology in Taiwan. The strawberry planting area is as high as 500 hectares, accounting for more than 80% of the strawberry planting area in Taiwan. It is a veritable "Strawberry Kingdom". Every year from November to April of the following year, it is the strawberry season in Dahu. From the main road to the country trails in Dahu, there are connected strawberry fields along the way. The air is also filled with the smell of strawberries, which is very tempting. Two-thirds of the farmers in the township make a living by growing strawberries, and they receive more than 1.5 million tourists every year. Driven by the strawberry industry, the per capita income of strawberry garden operators can reach NT$600,000 to NT$1 million (approximately NT$140,000 to NT$230,000 at the current exchange rate ), and Dahu Township has also become a well-developed model village in Taiwan.
Now, let’s go into Dahu Township and see how this “Strawberry Kingdom” was created.
Strawberry cultivation in Dahu Township began in 1957. At first, it was grown and sold as ordinary fruits. However, due to the poor transportation environment in the location and the difficulty of preserving strawberries, the economic benefits were not obvious and the planting area was relatively limited. It was not until the 1970s that Taiwan began to learn from Japan's agricultural development experience and vigorously promoted business models such as leisure farms and citizen farms, and strawberry picking tourist parks began to develop. The first person to try it was local farmer Xu Zhiwen. In 1978, he first opened his strawberry garden for tourists to pick. Under his influence, the strawberry tourism industry began. After that, was promoted by Taiwan's "One Township, One Characteristics" plan, and the strawberry tourism industry in Dahu became better and better, becoming a well-known brand in Taiwan. But in the 1990s, the homogenization competition in the strawberry tourism industry in Great Lakes became increasingly fierce, and the income gradually declined. The strawberry tourism industry entered a bottleneck period of development. At this time, Taiwan proposed the concept of "precision agriculture", and the first generation of leisure agriculture, which was mainly based on tourism, was gradually upgraded to a leisure agriculture with complex functions.
Guided by policy guidance and driven by market demand, the Dahu Township Farmers Association took the lead in developing two projects, Dahu Winery and Dahu Strawberry Cultural Center. These two projects were operated in 2002 and 2004 respectively. Driven by these two projects, the strawberry industry in Dahu Township has embarked on the path of branding and integrated development of the entire industry chain. At present, the strawberry industry in Dahu Township has formed a comprehensive development model integrating production, sales, research and development, promotion, cultural creativity, festivals and leisure.
In terms of production and planting, Dahu Township creates high-quality strawberry products and picking experience through technological innovation. Strawberries in Dahu Township are now mainly grown on elevated structures. This is a planting method invented by Fan Xiulong, the owner of the Peak Orchard Farm, for which he won Taiwan's Shennong Award. When strawberries are planted on a shelf, the space can be used for multi-layer planting. The elevated shelf facilitates drainage on rainy days and the strawberries will not rot. More importantly, there is no need to bend down during the planting and picking process, which is very beneficial to your health. Under the elevated structure, there is a biological induction and capture device for armyworm , a pest of strawberries. A mineral water bottle is placed under a cylindrical container. A biological inducer is placed in the container, which can attract armyworms within a radius of 1km. When the armyworms find ways to get into the container, they will enter the mineral water bottle and be captured.
This biological control technology reduces the use of pesticides, is very safe, and also reduces the worries of picking tourists. In addition, Dahu Township Strawberry Plantation also ensures the quality and taste of strawberries through variety improvement, water and fertilizer management, etc. For example, white strawberries , which are difficult to cultivate and have unique quality, are also common here.Today, 90% of the rice fields in Dahu Township have been replanted with strawberries, with 35% to 40% of the production used for tourists to pick, and the rest being processed into various strawberry products.
More than 300 strawberry orchards have been formed in Dahu Township. Among them, Mengtian Farmer Strawberry Farm, International Strawberry Farm, Qiqi Strawberry Farm, Mountain Love Strawberry Farm, Famous Strawberry Farm, Qinyi Strawberry Farm and Liuhe Strawberry Farm have the largest production and are also the most famous. In these strawberry gardens, there are some that are famous for their large size, and some that are famous for their white strawberries. They have different characteristics. Many strawberry farm operators are young people, which also reflects the economic benefits of the strawberry farm.
Based on the strawberry farm cluster, the Dahu Winery and Dahu Strawberry Cultural Center developed under the leadership of the Farmers Association have further extended the strawberry industry chain and achieved integrated development of one, two and three. The first countries in the world to make strawberry wine were Canada and the United States, and Dahu Winery is known as the third winery in the world and the first in Asia to brew strawberry wine. Dahu Winery continues to improve its research and development technology and has the most advanced fruit wine brewing technology in Asia. Everyone who has tasted Dahu Strawberry Wine is full of praise. Dahu Winery uses low-temperature brewing techniques to retain the original sweet flavor of strawberries. It mainly produces a series of strawberry wines, such as Lake Berry Love, Strawberry Light Wine, Strawberry Sweet Wine, Zuijiaqingli, Collection Loveberry, Challenge Fifty and other products. strawberry wine is produced from 6.5% to 50% of the wine. What's even more special is that Dahu Winery is the only winery in Taiwan that does not accept bulk orders. Consumers need to visit here in person to purchase the wine products produced by Dahu Winery. The winery also has a wine making center and a tasting center for consumers to visit and taste.
The Strawberry Snack Street is the most nostalgic place in the winery. Here, the various snacks made with strawberries as raw materials make people salivate: Strawberry hot dogs are a very popular product on the street, with golden meringue wrapped in grass. The berry-flavored German sausages are doused with ketchup, giving it a unique flavor; the strawberry-shaped buns are very cute, and the fillings are strawberry-flavored bean paste. There are also various unexpected snacks such as strawberry jam steamed buns and fried strawberries; and there are even more strawberry desserts such as strawberry cheese, strawberry ice cream , strawberry cake .
Strawberry Cultural Center is also located within Dahu Winery and began operations in 2004. The first floor of the Strawberry Cultural Center is the exhibition and sales area for agricultural specialties. A large number of strawberry-related products are displayed here, both self-developed and products produced by cooperative companies.
Dahu strawberry wine, strawberry pudding, strawberry vinegar, strawberry jam, strawberry dried beans, strawberry wine sausage and other strawberry products allow tourists to feel the taste of strawberries all year round, and are very popular among tourists. Among them, strawberry wine sausage is an innovative product developed and very popular. During the peak tourist season, 3,000 pieces can be sold a day. In addition, cultural and creative souvenirs such as strawberry pillows, strawberry mugs, and strawberry dolls are also very interesting and are good tourist souvenirs. The second and third floors are the strawberry ecological education area, and the second floor is the screening room. Introduction videos of the Strawberry Cultural Center and surrounding attractions are played from time to time. Each film is about 15 minutes long. Interested tourists can make an appointment to watch it. The third floor is a permanent exhibition area for strawberry ecology. The main content is to introduce strawberry ecology, strawberry history, strawberry breeding management, harvesting, consumption and other related knowledge. It is entertaining and entertaining. The fourth floor is the restaurant, which uses strawberries as an ingredient and provides strawberry specialties. The fifth floor is the sky garden sightseeing area, where a variety of temperate flowers and horticultural plants are planted in colorful colors. This is an excellent scenic spot for a bird's-eye view of the Great Lakes, and you can have a panoramic view of the pastoral beauty of the Great Lakes region.
Another unique manor in Dahu Township is Chocolate Cloud Manor. This is a four-star hotel with a chocolate theme. The most popular activity here is for people to bring freshly picked strawberries and process them into various strawberry chocolates . You can also DIY and experience the fun of making chocolate. In addition, this park purchases 10 to 20 tons of strawberries from farmers every year for processing, and produces products such as strawberry wine, which is popular among tourists. It also enhances the value of Dahu strawberries and achieves a win-win situation for the park and farmers.Although Chocolate Yunzhuang focuses on chocolate theme, it is also integrated into the local strawberry industry chain and belongs to the pan-strawberry industry chain of "strawberry + theme accommodation". It can be said that the strawberry industry in Dahu Township is the foundation of the tourism industry, and the tourists brought by strawberry leisure have promoted the development and growth of other tourist attractions and tourism services.
A small strawberry has created a big industry. The development history and achievements of the strawberry industry in Dahu Township are a successful case of the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, promoted by farmers' association organizations, driven by leading projects, and guided by professional and brand development strategies. Below, we briefly elaborate on the inspiration and thinking this case brings us.
1. Pay attention to the leading role of leading projects
In the development process of the strawberry industry in Dahu Township, the leading role of the two leading projects of Dahu Winery and Strawberry Cultural Center cannot be ignored. Before this, Dahu Township’s strawberry industry was just a collection of strawberry farms. It is these two projects, has promoted the development of strawberry processing and strawberry in-depth experience, and then played a decisive role in shaping Dahu Township’s strawberry culture and brand communication. The leading projects we are talking about here not only refer to large scale, but more to the effect in promoting and guiding the industry. Let’s imagine that if a project is just large-scale planting, although it is large in scale, it will not have a radiating effect on the extension of the industrial chain, and it is not the object of our attention. As for the creation of leading projects, it is difficult to achieve by relying solely on the own development and growth of agricultural growers. It must rely on the help of external forces.
In the case of Dahu Township, the farmers' association played an important role in promoting and promoting. In the process of our rural revitalization, there is no shortage of good creative planning and policies, but what is really lacking is leading project investment operators who understand the market, are good at operations, and have local feelings. The development of leading projects and the introduction of investment operators require the joint efforts of local governments, agricultural service organizations and social capital to build a community of interests and promote them with innovative business models.
2. Correctly understand the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries
The integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries is a term that is often talked about in the agricultural field at present, and it is also one of the key directions of policy support. However, the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries does not mean that every park or village must develop secondary or tertiary industries, but rather a coordinated integration within a certain area. Secondary production has stronger economies of scale than primary production. , the agricultural products of several villages or townships may be fully supported by one factory. If every village or park develops secondary industry, it will fall into low-level processing and the economic benefits will not be high, which violates the original intention of integrating primary, secondary and tertiary industries.
This feature is also truly demonstrated in the case of Dahu Township. The strawberry products in the township are mainly processed at Dahu Winery, and a small amount is processed at Chocolate Yunzhuang. Of course, if it’s just an experiential handicraft workshop, that’s a different matter. In terms of tertiary industry , in addition to some light experience projects, agricultural product storage, transportation, brand marketing, cultural display, etc., all need to concentrate resources on big things instead of small things, especially under the condition of shortage of construction land quotas. Multiple villages in a township can achieve large-scale and intensive development and share the benefits of project development through the concentration or replacement of construction land quotas, 's participation in cooperation, etc., instead of scattered village-by-village development.
3. Specialization and brand development
Dahu Township has created many "firsts" in the development of the strawberry industry, but I think the best values for brand building are two points: first, the largest strawberry planting area; second, the first strawberry winery in Taiwan and even Asia. These two firsts of not only established its position in the industry, but also established awareness in the minds of consumers. Although Dahu Winery produces many product series, there is only one most outstanding product, and that is the strawberry fruit wine series.This also reminds us that in the development process of rural areas, from the perspective of brand building, products must be focused, focusing on one type of leading product, seeking the unique market selling points of this type of leading product, and shaping the brand, while the others are green leaves. Only in this way can we better promote it in the market.
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( article source: Rural Assembly Number Editor: Yidu)
Rural Assembly Number: Beijing Urban and Rural Strategy Research Institute self-operated media. With the mission of “solving the confusion of rural revitalization, exploring ways of industrial integration, and shaping the beauty of rural countryside,” we will delve into rural industry upgrading, beautiful countryside construction, integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism, and spread new thinking, new concepts, and new models for rural development around the world. Build a self-media information exchange platform, a smart innovation platform, a rural industry stage, and a publicity and promotion booth that comprehensively empower rural and sustainable development . Provide fast and effective knowledge transfer services for builders who are committed to rural development, and realize the beautiful vision of villages and enterprises relying on each other, scenery and fields facing each other, and urban and rural integration.
