Rising vegetable prices: have farmers benefited? | Food Talk Vol. 43

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This year, whether in the city or the countryside, the rising cost of vegetables is on everyone’s lips.

Yet, while we complain about inflation, the farmers in the fields are facing unprecedented challenges. Few stop to ask: why are prices rising like this, and are the farmers actually making more money—or losing more?

In truth, behind the rising cost of produce may lie a story about climate change.

In this episode of the Food Talk podcast, we have invited three farmers from Beijing and Yunnan: Wen Zizi, a nature educator in Beijing living a “semi-farmer” lifestyle; Liu Gang, who farms on the outskirts of Beijing; and Kang Li, a young woman who returned to her roots in Yunnan. Together, they bring us a deep conversation about farmland, vegetable prices, and extreme weather.

We discovered that as climate change moves from the news headlines into our shopping baskets, farmers have become the front-line chroniclers:

■ From torrential rains stripping apricot trees bare to droughts cracking reservoirs, their stories reveal how agriculture seeks a way to survive under the shock of climate change;

■ Liu Gang shares how he mitigates climate impacts by planting taro and digging drainage ditches;

■ Kang Li takes us into an ecological orchard in Yunnan to explore how grass cover protects the health of fruit trees;

■ Wen Zizi uses the wit of a traditional cross-talk performance to explain the science behind why “bean pods won’t bloom”.

This episode also gets to the heart of the truth behind “price fluctuations”:

■ Why do farmers struggle to make a profit while consumers feel that vegetables are becoming increasingly expensive?

■ Can ecological agriculture provide a possible answer to climate change?

■ Will the price of vegetables keep rising?

Through this programme, we hope readers can understand how climate change affects our food baskets and agriculture, recognise the effort and resilience of our farming friends, and rethink how we, as consumers, can support a healthier, more sustainable agricultural future.

Join us and listen to this fascinating conversation about the land, the garden, and the future!

Guest/s of/this/episode

Zhang Hehe (Nature name: Wen Zizi)

Principal of the Gaia Nature School (Friends of Nature) and co-author of “Rooted yet Refined”. A graduate of the Biology Department at Capital Normal University, she later earned a Master’s in Environment and Development in Norway. With twenty years of experience in environmental education, she has won the admiration of children through her extensive biological knowledge and her ability to explain complex concepts simply. She currently manages the Gaia Worth Garden, combining ecological agricultural production with conservation to rebuild the connection between humans, nature, and the land through environmental education.

 

 

Liu Gang

Born in the mid-60s, Liu worked for many years in a Japanese company. Seeking a career without a “glass ceiling”, where he wouldn’t fear unemployment and could continue working until he was 80, he spent years self-studying organic agriculture. In 2013, he founded “Xiao Liushu Farm” in Shunyi, Beijing, dedicated to producing safe, reliable, delicious, and environmentally friendly organic vegetables and farm produce.

 

 

 

Kang Li

A young woman of the Yi people born in 1992, she returned to her hometown in Chuxiong, Yunnan, to found the “Kaixin Jiayuan” (Happy Home) farm and cooperative. At the end of 2015, she and her husband moved from Beijing back to Chuxiong to start their venture. Driven by a love for agriculture and rural life, she decided to root her life in the soil. Over the past nine years, she has organised local cooperatives, established a Yi embroidery association for local women, coordinated the sustainable harvesting of wild mountain produce by smallholders, and developed sales channels and platforms for local specialties. She also advocates for the reduction of pesticides, chemical fertilisers, and herbicides in the countryside, striving to preserve as many local seed varieties as possible.

 

 

Host/of/this/episode

Tianle

Founding Editor of Foodthink and organiser of the Beijing Organic Farmers Market.

 

 

 

 

This episode of the podcast was edited from a conversation at the “Gaia People Mutual Help Gathering” (abbreviated as the “Gai-Bang Gathering”) on 13 November 2024.

Timeline

00:29 Guest introductions: Liu Gang from Beijing, Kang Li from Yunnan, and Wen Zizi, a “half-farmer, half-X”.

02:28 The power of the climate: How extreme weather affects crops—true stories of hail, torrential rain, and drought.

15:16 Discussing the impact of extreme weather on production costs: From investments in planting equipment to improving soil resilience. How much money and effort are farmers pouring into this?

20:40 Despite the severe impact of extreme climate, why haven’t the prices of vegetables from many small-scale ecological farms risen?

24:08 The vegetable price myth: Prices are up, but farmers aren’t making money? Listen to the frustrations and the perseverance of the farmers.

29:20 Opportunities for ecological agriculture: The “unbeatable” nature of ecological farming—how healthy soil and crop diversity reduce climate-related losses.

45:16 The power of consumption: It sounds good in theory, but would you buy “ugly” land vegetables? How do consumer choices shape the future of agriculture?

53:14 Will vegetable prices continue to rise? Facing climate challenges, the farmers discuss the pricing and future of ecological produce.

A hand-drawn panorama of Gaia Worth Garden by Wen Zizi, featuring mountains, fields, forests, gardens, and home. Source: 《Not Rustic in the Soil》
Left: The guardian mulberry tree at the garden entrance, remaining lush even in late October. Right: Changjiaoling (left), Wen Zizi (right), and their eternally wild and happy dog.

On 12 June 2022, Wen Zizi experienced an unprecedented hailstorm at Gaia Worth Garden in Pinggu, Beijing. The apricots in the orchard, which were perfectly ripe and intended for jam, were completely destroyed. The vegetables in the fields were flattened from 3D to 2D, and the spring crops were almost entirely wiped out. Beyond the crops, the farmhouse and agricultural facilities didn’t escape either; plastic greenhouses were pierced, and roof tiles on the farmhouse were cracked. The hailstones were the size of eggs—something Wen Zizi had never encountered in her forty years of life. The scenes, reminiscent of the film 《The Day After Tomorrow》, made her realise that extreme weather triggered by climate change may increasingly trend towards the catastrophic. As someone who tills the land for their own sustenance, she has felt the impact of climate change on crop growth even more profoundly in recent years.
Weather forecasts and meteorological data often fail to accurately predict or report weather conditions for a single small area. As a nature educator, Wen Zizi uses data from the weather station on her farm to precisely record local weather, and she has found it to be increasingly abnormal. This year, a heavy rain at Gaia Worth Garden broke a ten-year record, with rainfall exceeding 180mm within 24 hours. A series of continuous heavy rains hindered the sowing of autumn vegetables; it took no fewer than three attempts at replanting before some carrots finally took hold.
Xiao Liushu Farm, renowned for its meticulous management, originally relied on detailed seasonal planting schedules to ensure that over 20 varieties were produced year-round, providing ample choice for consumers and restaurants. However, the abnormal weather of the last two years has often caught Liu Gang completely off guard.

Since this summer, Liu Gang’s social media feed has been almost entirely about the weather. There is disappointment, but more so, there is optimism and resilience.
Xiao Zhidu Village, Zhonghe Town, Yongren County, Chuxiong, Yunnan. Only a few households live on the hilltop where Kang Li’s family resides; the village’s 100-plus residents are scattered across different hills, and visiting a neighbour can take over half an hour. Photo: Xiao Yunsheng
By selling local mountain produce directly to consumers, Kang Li and her family have built a happy life in their hometown and have had two children. Although she has found that ecological agriculture shows a certain resilience in adapting to climate change, she has also observed many ordinary farmers falling into hardship due to extreme weather.
Kang Li discovered that ecological walnut trees, because herbicides are not used beneath the canopy, are more resilient during drought, yielding better harvests than conventional orchards.

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Podcast Creative Team

Programme Music: Ba Nong

Production: Xiao Jing

Planning: Tianle

Editing: ZX, Tianle

Contact Email: [email protected]

 

Published by Foodthink