Mushroom cultivation props up farmers' journey out of poverty

Along the winding mountain road, the car bumped all the way, heading toward Dongyuan Village deep in the mountains of Tongshi Town, Pingjiang County. Surrounded by mountains, with green scenery everywhere, the babbling Dongyuan River runs through the village, and "Baihua Mushroom Industry" is located right by the Dongyuan River. The edible fungus industry greenhouses are warm and humid, filled with the fragrance of mushrooms, and one could see the mushrooms swaying and "wiggling" in the spring breeze.

"The mushrooms are growing beautifully this year. By May and June we can harvest over a thousand jin a day. By the end of this year I won't just be able to take off the poverty hat, my family is also planning to build a new house!" said Zeng Jinjiang, a poor household, with a beaming smile. But just one or two years ago, he did not even dare to dream of escaping poverty and achieving prosperity.

Although Dongyuan Village has a beautiful ecological environment, it is remote, with poor transportation and more mountains than farmland, making it a typical poor village. Of the village's more than 1,900 people, 205 had not yet been lifted out of poverty. When the great battle against poverty began, veteran Party member Wu Huanping led poor households to "band together" to escape poverty, launching a special agricultural poverty alleviation project for edible fungi. The tiny mushrooms brought earth-shaking changes to the lives of poor households.

Wu Huanping, a 52-year-old veteran Party member, traveled far and wide in his youth, working jobs and starting businesses. In 1996, he thought about returning to his hometown to lead his fellow villagers in building something. That year, while working away from home, he studied breeding techniques on the side. After a year he came home with only 630 yuan left, but he had brought back the "true scripture." Within a few years he became a relatively large local demonstration specialist in breeding, helping dozens of poor households escape poverty and achieve prosperity. In 2013, he discovered that the edible fungus industry had a short production cycle, low cost, stable prices, easily available raw materials, large market consumption, flexible production timing, considerable economic benefits and was ecologically friendly. He took his fellow villagers to Zhejiang, Hubei and other places to learn techniques, and after understanding the market, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Over the years, he hit walls and ran into obstacles, rising and falling several times, but he never forgot his original intention. In 2016, his "Baihua Mushroom Industry" covered nearly 10 mu of land, involving 7 poor households and 27 people. Many people both worked and held shares in the industry base. With a year's wages plus year-end dividends, the highest-earning poor household made 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a year. The villagers affectionately called old Wu "Mushroom Brother," and he was happy to accept it. He said this pet name both reflected the villagers' love and showed that he was still very young. "Getting rich alone doesn't count as getting rich; only when everyone gets rich does it count. This year the battle against poverty has begun, and the enthusiasm of officials and the masses is even higher. This year the poverty alleviation officials stationed in the village and the township officials have visited more than ten times. How to expand scale and market and lead more poor households to 'band together' to escape poverty has become everyone's shared mission and task!"

"My wife and I are technicians and workers, responsible for picking mushrooms and loading fungus bags and other processes. My son was born in the 1990s, hardworking and quick-thinking, and is responsible for learning new techniques and market sales." Zeng Jinjiang introduced this while loading fungus bags in the workshop with his wife. Zeng Jinjiang's family of three are all here. A few years ago, his wife fell ill and spent hundreds of thousands of yuan on medical expenses, leaving the family utterly poor and deeply in debt, and then they were hit by disaster - their old earthen house collapsed into ruins after a heavy rain. "With the help of the Party committee and government, we became targets of targeted poverty alleviation. This year financial poverty alleviation services came to our door. Without leaving the village I received a 50,000 yuan collateral-free loan, and the government even helps pay the interest. Now we have the funds to invest in old Wu's 'Baihua Mushroom Industry'!" Old Zeng estimated that apart from nearly 50,000 yuan in wages this year, his family would receive at least more than 20,000 yuan in dividends at year's end.

Zeng Jinjiang said: "At first I was a bit afraid to join. For generations our family had planted rice. With no experience and no technique, could growing mushrooms really work? 'Mushroom Brother's' down-to-earth and serious style moved us. He does a line of work and masters it. Whether eating or dreaming, he is thinking about mushrooms. He promised, 'You just focus on doing the work in front of you well. I'll take responsibility for sales and for profit and loss. Even if we lose money, not a single cent of your wages will be reduced!'"

Yi Hengchi, deputy Party secretary of the town, introduced that after this year's battle against poverty began, in order to give full play to the vanguard and exemplary role of Party members in poverty alleviation, Pingjiang County decided to carry out in depth among rural Party members across the county the "Double Lead, Double Heart" Party-building theme activity (that is, Party members who are already well-off take the lead in poverty alleviation and show compassion, and poor Party members take the lead in escaping poverty and build confidence).

In Tongshi Town, there are now more than 60 Party members like Wu Huanping who lead villagers and poor households in "banding together" to develop distinctive industries. This year, dozens of registered poor households embarked on the road out of poverty and toward prosperity because of "Double Lead, Double Prosper." "Tongshi Town identified 61 well-off Party members and 23 poor Party members. Through industry assistance providing employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, dozens of poor households have joined the ranks of actively escaping poverty," Yi Hengchi said. "By mobilizing well-off Party members from the village and local area to help the poor households around them, their support in terms of technical needs, labor needs and so on will better suit poor households' 'tastes,' and the results will be more obvious and longer lasting. We will gradually promote experience like old Wu's typical and replicable approach throughout the town!"

As we were leaving, Yi Hengchi warmly invited us: "Come spring next year, bring yourself back to the mountains for another trip. By then this place will have taken on a whole new look."