China News Service, Dafang, Guizhou, September 8 (Reporter Yang Qian) A symposium on promoting the development of Gastrodia elata industry in Bijie by the Peasants and Labor Party was recently held in Dafang County, Bijie City, Guizhou Province. Industry experts from traditional Chinese medicine research, quality inspection, health food supervision, drug supervision, forestry and grass industry and other fields gathered in Dafang, the "hometown of Gastrodia elata in China", and visited Gastrodia elata planting bases and processing enterprises on the spot. They consulted on key issues such as provenance protection, ecological planting, quality control, origin processing, intensive processing, compliance development, and base construction, and provided suggestions for the high-quality development of the Gastrodia elata industry in Dafang.
Dafang County is home to a national-level Gastrodia elata breeding base and has national geographical indication registration and protection certification. Gastrodia elata is a pillar industry that enriches the local people.
The picture shows the scene of the symposium. Photo courtesy of the Central Committee of the Peasants and Workers Party
Under the promotion of the Central Committee of the Peasants and Workers' Party, Gastrodia elata will be included in the national "medicine and food homologous" catalog in 2023, expanding the space for industrial development; the Guizhou Gastrodia Gastrodia Industrial Technology Research Institute has settled in Dafang to provide technical support for standardized planting, intensive processing, quality control, and achievement transformation. Projects such as the pilot planting of gastrodia elata with ecological artificial mushroom sticks under the forest and the integrated development of the whole industry chain have been implemented to promote the transformation of the industry from traditional planting to full chain integration.
At the symposium, experts combined field surveys and professional research to make suggestions.
Chen Shilin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief professor of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, pointed out that the development prospects of Dafang Gastrodia elata industry are broad, with a large market size and sufficient room for growth. At this stage, the focus should be on carrying out research related to germplasm resource protection and quality improvement, to truly realize high quality and low price of Gastrodia elata, and to expand the market value of authentic medicinal materials in Wumeng Mountain area.
Chen Shilin proposed that Dafang should seize opportunities for industrial iteration, open up channels for the implementation of scientific research results, fill the shortcomings between scientific research and market transformation, rely on forest resources to develop ecological planting, focus on breakthroughs in the gastrodia subdivision track, get rid of dependence on foreign technology products, and build its own industrial competitive advantage. At the same time, it is recommended to strengthen industry-university-research collaboration, introduce scientific research innovation platforms and workstations, promote technological research, transform laboratory technology into field productivity, promote the upgrade of Dafang Gastrodia from primary raw materials to high value-added products, and empower local rural revitalization and industry improvement in quality and efficiency.
Guo De'an, chief professor of Shanghai University of Chinese Medicine, gave key suggestions on quality control, standard construction, and new drug research and development of Dafang Gastrodia. Guo De'an believes that basic research on the domestic Gastrodia elata industry is relatively weak, and the quality of Gastrodia elata raw materials from different origins varies significantly. The core pain point of the industry is how to process raw materials of varying quality into finished products of stable and uniform quality. Guo De'an proposed that the core essence is "in-depth research, simple explanation of standards, and accurate testing": first, we must analyze the chemical substance basis of Gastrodia elata and clarify the active ingredients; then formulate implementation standards that are both scientific and practical, abandon the limitations of single-component testing, and promote a multi-index joint evaluation model; finally, rely on advanced testing technology to achieve precise quality control. We cannot rely solely on pharmacopoeia standards, but must combine corporate self-discipline and regulatory sampling inspections.
Guo De'an suggested that grading standards for Dafang Gastrodia should be established as soon as possible, relying on large database technology of Chinese medicinal materials to achieve rapid traceability and identification of Gastrodia elata from different origins, and use technical means to polish the Dafang Gastrodia elata brand. The Dafang Gastrodia elata industry must strengthen quality control throughout the chain, consolidate basic research, promote the implementation of standards, and transform scientific research advantages into industrial competitiveness.
Wang Hainan, deputy director of the Drug Supervision and Administration Department and second-level inspector of the National Medical Products Administration, believes that multi-department coordination should be strengthened to open up the "last mile" of agricultural technology services, promote an organized production model that organically combines enterprises, bases, and farmers, promote standardized production of Chinese medicinal materials, and ensure stable and uniform quality of medicinal materials.
Sun You, a second-level inspector of the Development and Reform Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, proposed that Gastrodia elata is suitable for under-forest planting, and it is necessary to fully release the value of woodland and grassland resources and develop under-forest ecological planting. We should face up to shortcomings such as insufficient protection of industrial factors and weak scientific and technological support, coordinate the layout of land space, improve social services, complete the warehousing cold chain infrastructure, and promote the realization of the value of ecological products.
Xin Mintong, a first-level researcher at the Health Food Registration Office of the Department of Market Special Foods of the State Administration for Market Regulation, believes that the implementation of the same source of medicine and food has opened up a new track for Gastrodia elata health food. Companies must strictly abide by laws and regulations, conduct safety evaluation and process control, standardize functional claims, make good use of the dual channels of registration and filing, and tap into the potential of Gastrodia elata health industry in compliance with regulations.
Jiao Hong, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Peasants’ and Workers’ Party, made it clear at the meeting that we should do a good job in top-level industrial design based on Bijie’s resource endowment, strictly adhere to the bottom line of source protection, rely on scientific and technological empowerment to carry out in-depth processing, introduce leading enterprises in the industrial chain, polish the Dafang Gastrodia brand, continue to strengthen the county economy, and promote the overall revitalization of the countryside.
It is expected that by the end of 2026, the Gastrodia elata planting area in Dafang County will reach 83,000 acres, with a comprehensive output value of 3.5 billion yuan; in 2030, the comprehensive output value will reach 10 billion yuan.
In the next step, organizations at all levels of the Peasants’ and Workers’ Party will continue to deepen the “regional + field” group assistance, fully absorb the opinions of industry experts at this symposium, gather talents, technology, enterprises, and platform resources, promote coordinated efforts in the health field and the industrial field, empower the high-quality development of Dafang Gastrodia, and inject united front momentum into the construction of a demonstration zone for the implementation of new development concepts in Bijie. (over)
