An experimental greenhouse in Nanshan utilizes advanced agricultural technology and doubles as a tourism destination.	Farmers sell tomatoes on the streets of Urumqi.	Professor Gao Jie proudly displays a greenhouse-grown pumppkin.

‘Clean’, ‘safe’ and ‘organic’ are not terms usually associated with Chinese agricultural output, but for Professor Gao Jie they are a mantra to live by. As the Vice Dean of Horticulture at Xinjiang Agricultural University, his days are spent researching new ways to increase agricultural production without endangering the environment or consumers.

Xinjiang boasts one of China’s few organic experimental farms. Student interns gain valuable experience in organic growing techniques, while the farm’s output is distributed through the university’s food outlets. “We have a social responsibility to protect consumers, as well as to preserve our environment for future generations,” says Professor Gao Jie. “We can help achieve these goals by growing food in a safe and organic way, and educating our students about the virtues of organically-grown produce. Organic food is also superior in taste and nutritional value.”

Being organic is relatively easy in Xinjiang. Clear blue skies indicate a region with little pollution, while the area’s low humidity reduces the need for pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Although rainfall is low, agricultural production is fed by melting snow from the Altay, Tianshan and Kunlun mountains. Melted snow passes under the desert rocks through a series of tunnels, providing farmers with pure water for irrigation and stock raising. In addition to the ideal environmental conditions, local Uygur culture values pure, safe and green production methods. “Uygurs don’t like chemicals as they aren’t considered natural,” explains Professor Gao Jie.

With its clean, green, superior taste, Xinjiang food should be commanding premium prices on Chinese and international markets, but the area’s potential is being undermined by a lack of management experience and an underdeveloped distribution system. Local farmers simply set up stands on the street and hope someone will come along and buy their produce. Fifty meters up the road you’ll find another farmer selling exactly the same things, allowing buyers to play one seller off another.

“Farmers lack bargaining power in the market,” observes Professor Gao Jie. If a buyer doesn’t come, or doesn’t want to pay a fair price, the farmer may be unable to sell their produce. It is a system that forces farmers to take desperate measures to survive.”

Ultimately the current system is not in the interests of agricultural buyers either, as it makes it very difficult to verify whether food has been grown organically. “Although buyers are able to get very high quality produce at cheaper prices, they are not able to on-sell the produce for its true value because they are unable to guarantee that the food has been grown in a safe or organic way. The end result is that Xinjiang food is sold for prices far below its worth,” laments Professor Gao Jie.

The government is aware of the problem and has been trying to encourage farmers to form co-operatives or management organizations to protect their interests. To date, these measures have largely been ineffective, due to a lack of management expertise amongst the farmers. This in turn is related to a former system of central planning, when farmers grew without any consideration for market demands. Unfortunately, many still grow in the same way. The government is reluctant to step in and provide management solutions as it wishes to empower growers to help themselves.

“In the past, the government has tried hard to help farmers profit from the free market. However, this hasn’t really worked so the government needs to change its role,” believes Professor Gao Jie. In addition to encouraging management co-operatives, the government has been trying to foster industrialization, which would allow for significant value-adding and full resource utilization of agricultural crops. Products like apricots, for example, could then have multiple uses. The fresh fruit could be sold as organic produce. The seeds could be used to make oil. Spoiled flesh could be employed to make jams, while the juice could go into fresh beverages. Even old timber from the trees could be harnessed in local wood-fire restaurants, adding a unique flavor to the food. As Professor Gao Jie notes, industrialization also “provides scope to build brands, and makes it much easier to regulate output and verify quality.” Perhaps most importantly, industrialization brings farmers together. Many local producers mistakenly believe a market system means having the freedom to do whatever they want in the name of self-interest. In reality, such a system cannot survive without co-operation and regulation.

As well as protecting the interests of farmers, co-operation between producers will enhance the culinary well-being of consumers across China. “Solving the problem of food safety requires education and a lot of people working together,” says Professor Gao Jie. “We need consumers to value organic food, and co-operative measures to ensure farmers get a fair price in supplying it. The future of our health, environment and economy depend on it.”

Chad Swanson is a foreign expert at Beijing Language and Culture University and a freelance writer.