Contributed by Dr. Peter VanderZaag, Yunnan Normal University
Tan Wei is the President of the company and the company also includes as managers, Li Jun and Tan Yan Xiong (family members) and 2 other cooperators, Jin Rong Yu and Liu Yun Peng who work together on another farm in another county with Tan Wei. Ludian County is a high elevation mountainous region of greater than 2500 masl with primarily a single summer crop possible as it gets cold in the winter season.
Public Partner: Ludian Agricultural Bureau, provided some crop inputs, grant money for some farm implements (tractors, seeders and harvester) as well as and technical and farm management advice.
Principle Private Partners: TuMaMa (develops and sells organic/humic acid fertilizers with inorganic NPK added as required by potatoes, apples and other crops), provided technical support, bank loan guarantee and fertilizers on credit.
- Collaboration and institutional support for the new family potato farm
Tan Wei’s parents were small potato growers and marketed potatoes from other farmers as well. Tan Wei graduated in 2012 with a business finance degree. After working for his uncle in construction for a year, he came home to farm with his parents in August 2013. In the beginning of 2014, he started growing his own potato crops covering 30 hectares. He procured local potatoes as seed. In the following year, Ludian county experienced a terrible earth quake on August 3, 2014. Relief efforts included TuMaMa donating 12 Tonnes free organic fertilizer. Tan Wei was fortunate to get a portion of that through the Zhaotong City Association of Industry and Commerce. That started his special relationship with TuMaMa. Later that year he became an agent for TuMaMa selling the fertilizers in Huo Dehong township, Ludian County. He started by selling 30 Tonnes to local farmers and used that much on his own farm as well in the first year. Business expanded to over 120 Tonnes in year 2 and over 300 Tonnes in the 3rd year. Through their friendship, Tan Wei sought opportunity to rapidly expand his parents’ potato business to almost 350 hectares now.
TuMaMa organized and cosponsored the Zhaotong City Government Seed Potato Forum from July 11-13, 2016. This was a major turning point in making the potato a high-profile possibility for seed potato production and brand marketing both seed and table potatoes in China as well as abroad. It changed the view of potatoes from being a subsistence crop to a commercial business crop by most of the local participants at the forum. Tan Wei got the vision as to the great possibilities for his farm too at this forum. TuMaMa opened the door to new possibilities in getting more land for Tan Wei to grow potatoes, marketing his crops and connecting him with various technical experts as well as linking him with different levels of local governments for promoting and purchasing his seed potatoes. TuMaMa assisted Tan Wei, who really had no assets, by guaranteeing bank financing for almost USD300,000 in 2016-17. Tan Wei has continued to utilize the TuMaMa fertilizers for his farming operation and also remains an agent. Tan Wei and his sister and brother in law are all around 30 years of age!
