Soaring Veg Prices: Are Farmers Any the Better for It? | Food Talk Vol. 43

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This year, whether in town or in the countryside, everyone agrees that vegetable prices have soared.

Yet as we complain about rising food prices, those working the land face challenges like never before. Few stop to ask: why have prices climbed so sharply, and are the farmers growing them actually making more money, or are they losing out?

In truth, behind the surge in prices lies a story of climate change.

In this episode of the Food Talk podcast, we are joined by three farmers from Beijing and Yunnan: Wen Zizi, a nature educator in Beijing following the ‘half-farmer, half-X’ philosophy; Liu Gang, who works the land on the capital’s outskirts; and Kang Li, a young person who returned to her hometown in Yunnan. Together, we delve into an in-depth conversation about farmland, vegetable prices, and extreme weather.

We’ve found that as climate change moves from newspaper headlines into our shopping baskets, farmers stand as its foremost witnesses:

■ From rainstorms that batter apricot orchards to droughts that crack reservoirs, their accounts reveal how agriculture seeks resilience in the face of climatic upheaval;

■ Liu Gang shares how he has mitigated climatic impacts by cultivating taro and digging drainage ditches;

■ Kang Li guides us through ecological orchards in Yunnan, exploring how grass cover safeguards fruit tree health;

■ Wen Zizi delivers the science behind ‘why beans fail to flower’ with a touch of crosstalk-style humour.

We also cut straight to the heart of fluctuating vegetable prices:

■ Why do farmers struggle to earn a living while consumers feel prices are only climbing?

■ How can ecological farming offer a viable response to climate change?

■ Will prices continue to rise?

Through this episode, we hope listeners will grasp how climate change ripples through our shopping baskets and our food systems, recognise the determination and resilience of those who grow our food, and reflect on how, as consumers, we can support a healthier, more sustainable future for farming.

Join us for this compelling conversation about the land, our plots, and the future.

This Episode’s Guests

Zhang Hehe (field name: Wen Zizi)

Head of the Friends of Nature Gaia Nature School and co-author of 《土里不土气》. A graduate of Capital Normal University’s Department of Biology, she later completed a Master’s in Environment and Development in Norway. With two decades in environmental education, she has earned the admiration of young learners through her deep biological knowledge and ability to explain complex ideas simply. She currently runs Gaia Worth Garden, where she practises ecological agriculture alongside conservation efforts, using environmental education to rebuild the bond between people, nature, and the land.

 

 

Liu Gang

Born in the 1960s, Liu Gang spent many years working for Japanese firms but longed for a vocation without a “glass ceiling” or the threat of redundancy—one he could pursue well into his eighties. After years of self-directed study in organic agriculture, he established Little Willow Farm in Shunyi, Beijing, in 2013. The farm is dedicated to producing organic vegetables and produce that are safe, wholesome, delicious, and kind to the environment.

 

 

 

Kang Li

A Yi woman born in 1992, Kang Li returned to her hometown to establish the Happy Home farm and cooperative in Chuxiong, Yunnan. In late 2015, she and her husband left Beijing to start their venture in Chuxiong. Passionate about farming and drawn to rural life, she resolved to put down permanent roots in the countryside. Over the past nine years, she has helped organise local cooperatives, founded an Yi embroidery association for Yi women, coordinated sustainable wild-harvesting initiatives for smallholder farmers, and developed sales channels and platforms for regional specialities. She also advocates across the village for reduced reliance on pesticides, chemical fertilisers, and herbicides, whilst championing the preservation of local seed varieties.

 

 

This Episode’s Host

Tianle

Founding editor of Foodthink and convener of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market.

 

 

 

 

This episode has been edited from a conversation held at the Gaia People Mutual Aid Conference (often shortened to the Gaia Aid Conference) on 13 November 2024.

Timeline

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

02:28 The power of climate: How extreme weather impacts crops, featuring real stories of hailstorms, torrential rain, and drought.

15:16 The impact of extreme weather on production costs: From investing in farming equipment to boosting soil resilience. Just how much money and mental energy do farmers have to expend to cope with extreme weather?

20:40 Given how severely extreme climate affects farming, why haven’t many small-scale ecological farmers raised their prices?

24:08 The vegetable price puzzle: Prices are up, yet farmers aren’t seeing more profit? Hear the frustrations and steadfast resolve of our farming guests.

29:20 Opportunities in ecological agriculture: How can a “resilient” ecological farming approach minimise climate-related losses through healthy soil and crop diversification?

45:16 The power of consumer choice: Sounds good in theory, but would you actually buy “ugly” field-grown vegetables? How do consumer preferences shape the future of agriculture?

53:14 Will vegetable prices keep rising? Facing climate challenges, our farming guests discuss the pricing and future of ecologically grown produce.

A hand-drawn panorama of Gaia Woth Garden by Wen Zizi, complete with mountains, fields, forests, gardens, and dwellings. Image source: *Earthbound & Unconventional*
Left: The grand mulberry tree at the garden entrance still stands lush and vibrant as late as the end of October. Right: Chang Jiaoling (left), Wen Zizi (right), and their perpetually free-spirited, exuberant dog.

On 12 June 2022, Wen Zizi experienced an unprecedented hailstorm at Gaia Wors Garden in Pinggu, Beijing. The apricots in the orchard, perfectly ripe and earmarked for jam-making over the next couple of days, were completely smashed. The vegetables in the fields were hammered flat, reduced from 3D to 2D, and the spring crop was nearly wiped out. Neither the farmhouse nor the agricultural facilities escaped unscathed; plastic greenhouses were punctured, and even the roof tiles were cracked. The hailstones were as large as eggs—a first in Wen Zizi’s forty years of life. Echoing scenes from the film *The Day After Tomorrow*, she realised that extreme weather driven by climate change could increasingly spiral towards disaster. Working directly on the land to grow her own food, she has felt the impact of climate change on crop growth even more acutely over these past few years.
Weather forecasts and meteorological data often fail to accurately predict or report conditions for a specific local area. As a nature educator, Wen Zizi uses data from the farm’s weather station to keep precise records of local conditions, noticing that the weather is becoming increasingly erratic. This year, a heavy downpour at Gaia Wors Garden broke a ten-year record, with over 180 millimetres of rain falling in twenty-four hours. Several consecutive heavy rains disrupted the planting of autumn vegetables; after replanting no fewer than three times, they only barely managed to grow some carrots.
Little Willow Farm, renowned for its meticulous management, typically relies on careful seasonal planting schedules to ensure a steady output of over twenty varieties year-round, offering consumers and restaurants a wide selection. Yet the abnormal weather over the past two years has repeatedly caught them off guard.

Since this summer, Liu Gang’s WeChat Moments have been almost entirely weather-related. There is disappointment, to be sure, but there is far more optimism and resilience.
Xiao Zhiju Village, Zhonghe Town, Yongren County, Chuxiong, Yunnan. Kang Li’s family lives on a hillside with only a handful of other households. The village’s hundred or so residents are scattered across different peaks, meaning a simple visit to a neighbour can take more than half an hour on foot. Photo: Xiao Yunsheng
By selling local mountain produce directly to consumers, Kang Li’s family has put down roots in their hometown and raised two children. While she has observed that ecological farming holds a certain resilience against climate change, she has also seen an increasing number of conventional farmers pushed into hardship by extreme weather.
Kang Li has found that by keeping the orchard floor free of herbicides, her ecological walnut trees prove far more resilient during droughts, yielding more than conventional orchards.

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All images in this article are courtesy of the guest

Podcast creative team

Music: Banong

Production: Xiaojing

Concept: Tianle

Editing: ZX, Tianle

Contact email: xiaojing@foodthink.cn

 

Published by Foodthink