How can the hawthorn industry help rural revitalization? A case study of three-industry integration by leading enterprises

Industrial revitalization is at the heart of rural revitalization, and distinctive industries are the "golden key" to activating rural economies. In many northern regions of China, the hawthorn industry has become an important link connecting farmers with markets and driving rural development, thanks to its strong adaptability, long industrial chain, and great potential for value addition. In particular, the "three-industry integration" model led by leading enterprises has transformed the small hawthorn from farmland to processing workshops and tourism scenarios, solving agricultural product marketing issues, creating diverse employment opportunities, and reshaping the rural industrial ecosystem, providing a replicable practice model for rural revitalization.

The hawthorn industry's contribution to rural revitalization is primarily reflected in establishing stable income channels for farmers. Hawthorn trees are drought-resistant and can thrive in poor soil, making them suitable for cultivation in mountainous and hilly areas, not only improving the rural ecological environment but also generating benefits from idle land. Under the leadership of leading enterprises, the traditional "individual farming and self-selling" model has been broken - companies sign "protective price purchase agreements" with farmers, securing hawthorn purchase prices in advance to avoid market fluctuations harming farmers. Taking Xinglong County in Hebei as an example, local leading enterprises maintain hawthorn purchase prices at 20% above market value, helping fruit farmers increase their annual income by over 3,000 yuan through this measure alone; some enterprises have also introduced a "shareholding dividend" model, where farmers can invest with their land or fruit trees, receiving both seasonal sales income and enterprise annual profit dividends, achieving "double benefits from one piece of land".

Employment is fundamental to people's livelihood, and the full-chain development of the hawthorn industry has created numerous "doorstep jobs" for rural areas. In the primary industry, standardized plantation bases require long-term management personnel, from spring flower and fruit thinning, summer pest control to autumn harvesting and sorting, providing employment opportunities for many left-behind elderly and women annually. In the secondary industry, processing workshop positions such as washing, juicing, and packaging provide stable industrial worker positions for villagers, with many migrant workers returning home for employment, alleviating the rural "hollowing out" problem. Even in the tertiary industry, positions such as tour guides and interpreters in hawthorn tourism projects, and customer service and packaging staff in e-commerce platforms have extended rural employment structure from "single agriculture" to "diverse services". Statistics show that a medium-sized hawthorn leading enterprise can directly drive employment for 500-1,000 people in surrounding areas and indirectly benefit thousands in the industry chain.

What truly makes the hawthorn industry an "engine" of rural revitalization is the "three-industry integration" model driven by leading enterprises - based on primary industry, centered on secondary industry, and extended to tertiary industry, achieving seamless integration of "planting + processing + tourism/e-commerce".
In primary industry, leading enterprises guide the construction of standardized planting bases, introducing superior seed breeding technology and organic farming standards, providing unified seedlings, fertilizers, and technical guidance to ensure stable hawthorn quality. This "enterprise + base + farmer" model not only improves agricultural product quality but also enables farmers to master scientific cultivation techniques, laying a solid foundation for industrial development.

Secondary industry is key to value enhancement. Through establishing modern processing workshops, enterprises break through the limitations of "primary processing" of hawthorns, developing multiple product categories including preserved fruits, beverages, and functional foods. For example, processing hawthorn pulp into low-sugar hawthorn desserts and fruit bars, extracting flavanols from the peel for health products, and making antibacterial liquid from the seeds achieves "whole fruit utilization", multiplying the hawthorn's added value several times. Meanwhile, processing waste can be converted into organic fertilizer, benefiting planting bases and forming a "green cycle".

Tertiary industry injects cultural and market vitality into the hawthorn industry. Leading enterprises develop "hawthorn theme parks" based on planting bases, offering hawthorn flower viewing in spring and picking experiences in autumn, while building hawthorn culture museums and transparent processing corridors for visitors to directly experience the entire process from fresh fruit to products. They also deploy e-commerce platforms, selling hawthorn products nationwide and internationally through livestreaming and community marketing. This integration of "agriculture + tourism + e-commerce" enables rural areas to not only "grow good products" but also "attract good tourists" and "sell at good prices".

Chengde Ruitai Food Co., Ltd. is a typical example of how the hawthorn industry's three-industry integration aids rural revitalization. As a leading enterprise in Hebei's Xinglong, its framework of "planting industrial park + processing industrial park + agricultural tourism park" directly helps over 1,400 farming households increase their income and provides employment for hundreds of people. By expanding sales channels through e-commerce platforms and activating rural vitality through tourism projects, it has achieved both enterprise development and provided solid industrial support for Xinglong's rural revitalization.

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