Earthworm farming paves the road to prosperity, driving fellow villagers to increase income together
Circular agriculture is an agricultural production model that uses the principles of material circulation and regeneration and multi-level material utilization technology to achieve production with less waste and improve resource use efficiency. Because of its dual characteristics of high efficiency and environmental protection, it is appearing more and more frequently in people's daily trending lists.
"Worming" out a circular industry chain
Liu Fang, a post-80s girl living in Huangcheng Town, Linzi District, Zibo City, Shandong Province, does not stand out at first glance. However, it is this plain girl with neat short hair who, two years ago, together with her husband, went from college students to farmers and founded Linzi District Huangcheng Town Wali Earthworm Farming Co., Ltd. Now, she has not only gotten tiny earthworms onto a CCTV program, but also has not forgotten her fellow villagers, driving many poor households in Huangcheng Town to get rich together.
"I first noticed earthworms because of growing flowers. My husband likes growing flowers. For flowers bought back from the flower market, after being grown for a while, problems appear in the soil. I looked it up online and found that earthworms could solve this problem. After testing, the effect was surprisingly good." Liu Fang told reporters that it was this accidental discovery of the nutritional value of earthworms while growing flowers and plants that opened the door to her entrepreneurship in earthworm farming.
Liu Fang told reporters that after discovering the role of earthworms in improving soil, they also found that earthworm castings could be used as organic fertilizer. "When earthworms eat foods such as animal manure and plant straw, these are decomposed and transformed in the digestive system under the action of various enzymes, and after excretion they become earthworm castings. Earthworm castings are rich in trace elements and more than 20 kinds of amino acids. Earthworm castings have very good water- and fertilizer-retention capacity, 2 to 3 times higher than ordinary soil, which is beneficial to crop growth." Liu Fang explained to reporters.
The couple bought 200 earthworms from a fishing tackle shop and started experiments entirely through self-study. They consulted a large amount of material and made improvements and innovations again and again. When the first batch of organic fertilizer was produced, Liu Fang took it to the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and asked professional researchers to test the components of the organic fertilizer. The results showed that all indicators were very good.
"Later we found that, in addition to organic fertilizer, earthworms themselves can process kitchen waste, be used for scientific research, and also be sent directly to pharmaceutical factories to extract the ingredients needed in medicines. After their life cycle ends, these earthworms can also be used as fertilizer." Liu Fang said this inspired her to develop earthworm farming into circular agriculture.
Through interviews, reporters learned that in Huangcheng, circular industries like Wali Earthworm have already begun to take shape. Animal manure, together with vegetable straw and vegetable leaves, is fermented and used as food to feed earthworms. The earthworm castings produced by the earthworms can be applied to vegetable fields to meet the nutrients needed for vegetable growth. The culled earthworms can then be used as feed for chickens. After chickens eat the nutrient-rich earthworms, they produce high-quality eggs, and the chicken manure can again be recycled to provide food for the earthworms, allowing tiny earthworms to "burrow out" an ecological agricultural circular industry chain. Now, the original small plot used for earthworm farming has expanded to more than 400 mu. The company is developing better and better, and demand for its products exceeds supply.
Interlocking links help poverty alleviation
The earthworm circular industry started by post-80s girl Liu Fang is becoming more and more prosperous, but after making her fortune, she thought of helping the poor households in her hometown. In 2016, with the assistance of the Poverty Alleviation Office of Linzi District, Zibo City, she signed assistance plans with 10 poor households in Huangcheng Town. For those with labor capacity, she provided employment opportunities and let them work in the company; for those without labor capacity, she gave a certain monthly living allowance.
During the reporter's interview, Zhang Guozhong, a poor household member now 70 years old, was cleaning at the company. "My main job is to take care of the flowers and plants grown at the base. It is not tiring at all, and I can still get a daily wage of 60 yuan." Zhang Guozhong is from Beiyang Village, Huangcheng Town. When he was young, he could not marry a wife because his family was poor, and he barely maintained a living by doing odd jobs. Now, as he gets older, his physical condition has become worse and worse, and he can no longer go out to work, making life even harder. After learning about the situation, Liu Fang arranged for Zhang Guozhong to trim tree branches at the base. Zhang Guozhong told reporters, "After coming to the company, I can not only earn enough for living expenses, but more importantly, I have companions to chat and talk with, and I am no longer lonely." When Liu Fang talked to reporters about her original intention in doing poverty alleviation work, she said, "Since I now have some ability, then I should try my best to help more people who need help."