Yao Feng (left) and Cai Xingkui inspect sweet potato seedlings.
In early summer, walking into Longxing Village, Xinghua Township, Hong’an County, rows of sweet potato seedlings thrive in the greenhouse. Inside, a dark-skinned middle-aged man crouches down to feel the soil, the sweet potato seedlings clearly visible.
“When planting sweet potatoes, if the roots are stable, the seedlings will grow strong.” This simple saying has been cherished by locals for ten years, and Yao Feng is affectionately known as the “Tech Sweet Potato Commander.”
Over the past decade, Hong’an sweet potatoes (commonly called “Hong’an Sweet Potatoes”) have grown from “a few cents per pound” to a comprehensive output value of 4.8 billion yuan, driving over 100,000 rural households to find employment near their homes. As a key link in the Hong’an sweet potato industry chain, what has Yao Feng, chairman of Hong’an County Ruifeng Planting and Breeding Cooperative, and the local villagers done right?
The Red Army’s “Lifesaving Food”
At around 6 p.m. on June 4, at the sweet potato breeding greenhouse in Longxing Village, Yao Feng was examining the seedlings. His rough hands brushed over the green sweet potato seedlings as if stroking his own children.
How did Yao Feng, a native of Hong’an, come to be associated with Hong’an sweet potatoes? The story begins 11 years ago.
In 2015, a company introduced to Longxing Village (formerly Longtan Temple Village) in Xinghua Township, Hong’an County, performed poorly and withdrew its investment.
When Yao Feng, who was doing business elsewhere, learned of this, he decided to respond to the call for talented individuals to return to their hometowns and take over this incomplete project. He established the Hong’an County Ruifeng Planting and Breeding Cooperative, prioritizing employment for impoverished households, and helped villagers increase their income through land transfers, share dividends, and job opportunities.
Unexpectedly, disaster struck in the second year of his venture. In the summer of 2016, days of heavy rain destroyed the cooperative’s hard-built Chinese herbal medicine and crayfish breeding bases, causing direct losses of 4 million yuan.
Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. This veteran, who enlisted in 1990 and was discharged in 1993, has maintained the spirit of a soldier even after being out of uniform for 20 or 30 years.
During the revolutionary era, Hong’an sweet potatoes were the “lifesaving food” that sustained Red Army soldiers and civilians. Now that they are no longer needed for survival, how can they be used to enrich the people? Yao Feng began to reconsider the industry’s development, focusing on Hong’an sweet potatoes as the main direction.
At that time, sweet potato cultivation in Hong’an was mainly done by individual farmers, and the seedlings were not of high quality. A few tasty sweet potatoes were not enough to support the industry’s growth.
What should be done? Yao Feng first thought that Hong’an needed its own virus-free sweet potato seedlings.
Sweet potatoes are propagated through root stems for a long time, and viruses are passed down from generation to generation, leading to poor growth and even variety degradation. Only by using technological means to remove the viruses from the seedlings could the problems of poor growth and low yield be solved.
The ideal was lofty, but reality was harsh. After extensive searching, Yao Feng found that no one around him knew how to achieve virus-free sweet potato seedling cultivation.
“I’ll seek outside help!” he resolved.
The Pursued Scientist
“Old Cai, come take a look. Is there a problem with this seedling?” As dusk fell, Yao Feng was reluctant to leave, examining each seedling carefully. Seeing Cai Xingkui enter the sweet potato breeding greenhouse, he quickly asked for advice.
Cai Xingkui is an associate professor at the College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University. He is a scientist in the national potato industry technology system, mainly researching potato virus-free technology.
One night in November 2019, around 11 p.m., Cai Xingkui met Yao Feng, who had come seeking him out. Yao Feng, covered in dust, spoke sincerely, saying his hometown could not grow good sweet potatoes and wanted expert help.
“I study potatoes, and he grows sweet potatoes. Although both are grown in the ground, they are very different,” Cai Xingkui admitted. This “cross-disciplinary” project was quite challenging.
“Hong’an’s soil is clearly suitable for sweet potato growth
