Middle-aged man in Chongqing grows button mushrooms, leading fellow villagers out of poverty toward prosperity

Recently, at the button mushroom growing base in Chunhua Mountain Village, Xinglong Town, Fengdu County, Chongqing, 28 neat and clean black greenhouses basked in the sunlight. Entering a greenhouse, one could see small white mushrooms wearing "caps" quietly poking their heads out of the mushroom beds, and four or five mushroom farmers were picking them. Their movements were skilled: pressing down, giving a gentle twist, and the little button mushrooms came free from the beds.

"The owner of this base is named Yu Deming. This middle-aged man is really something - he endures hardship, has plenty of drive, and took the initiative to start a business to lead the villagers to prosperity. Very impressive," said local villager Yu Zhongxiu. In Chunhua Mountain Village, whenever Yu Deming is mentioned, everyone invariably gives a thumbs-up. It was he who led everyone onto a new path out of poverty toward prosperity.

Good hometown policies prompted him to start growing button mushrooms

"Last year, thanks to favorable weather, my button mushrooms had a bumper harvest, and with order-based sales, my income was guaranteed." The man speaking was Yu Deming, already 40 years old this year, short in stature, dark-skinned, with the honest, simple look of a country fellow.

"In the past I worked away from home all year round, mostly construction site work. Although I could earn tens of thousands of yuan a year, drifting away from home for so long ultimately left me with no sense of belonging. On top of that, hometown policies are good now, and infrastructure like roads, water and electricity has gradually improved, providing the conditions for starting a business," Yu Deming said with emotion.

In August 2011, after returning to his hometown, cadres at all levels in the town and village encouraged him to grow button mushrooms. After a period of research and study, and with a try-it-and-see attitude, that same year he invested more than 30,000 yuan and set up 6 greenhouses to grow button mushrooms.

"Because it was my first time growing them, I lacked the relevant technology and experience, and after deducting costs, I didn't make any money that year," Yu Deming said. But he was not discouraged; instead, it stirred his fighting spirit. He went to Chongqing Xunye Edible Fungi Company to learn techniques, and humbly sought advice from experts at the county agriculture committee. He also spent days and nights in the greenhouses, keeping the button mushrooms warm and ventilated.

Hard work pays off. By the harvest season of the second year, having mastered the growing and management techniques, not only did button mushroom output increase by two layers compared with the first year, but the quality was also better, and the benefits were noticeably improved.

Li Xiaohong, mayor of Xinglong Town, said that button mushroom cultivation is actually a project with relatively low investment and quick returns. In addition, the county is well supplied with the straw, cow dung and other raw materials the project requires, and it can also achieve circular utilization of local agricultural, livestock and fungal resources.

Now with 28 greenhouses developed, netting 60,000 yuan a year

"Sisters, hurry up and harvest, so I can take them to sell early and pay your wages!" It is currently button mushroom harvest season, and Yu Deming and his wife could not handle it all themselves, so they hired 5 local villagers at a wage of 60 yuan per day to harvest button mushrooms for them.

"Last year, I grew button mushrooms in 28 greenhouses, starting harvest in early November last year, and the whole harvest period will continue until the end of April this year," Yu Deming said. So far he has sold 50,000 jin of button mushrooms, with gross income of around 100,000 yuan. After deducting costs such as fertilizer and labor wages, he netted 90,000 yuan, and the remaining button mushrooms can still bring in another 30,000 yuan net.

Yu Deming told this writer that the button mushroom harvest period is generally during the special window from November of one year to April of the next. He calculated the accounts himself: at the current scale, the income from growing button mushrooms alone comes to 60,000 yuan a year.

"Why do we mushroom farmers dare to grow button mushrooms so boldly? Because we have a 'backer,' and there's no worry about selling the product." The backer Yu Deming referred to is Chongqing Xunye Edible Fungi Company. The button mushrooms they harvest are purchased entirely under order by the company at the agreed price.

It is reported that, to relieve mushroom farmers of worries, Chongqing Xunye Edible Fungi Company adopted a "company + base + farmer" business model to develop button mushrooms, and promised to buy back products at a protective price, solving the mushroom farmers' sales difficulties.

Sowing the seeds of enriching the people and fulfilling the villagers' dream of prosperity

"Boss Yu, why have so many 'flower mushrooms' appeared among my button mushrooms?" While the reporter was interviewing, local villager Zhang Xinghua came to consult about a technical problem. "Yours is caused by too much moisture in the greenhouse..." Yu Deming pointed out the problem directly.

Seeing that Yu Deming got good returns from growing button mushrooms, some local villagers with the right conditions also joined in. Among them, villager Luo Xiufang grew button mushrooms last year and achieved a yield of more than 1,500 kg per mu; after deducting costs, she made nearly 10,000 yuan in profit.

"Now many people come to me or call me to ask about button mushroom growing techniques, and I explain to them without holding anything back," Yu Deming said. We are all fellow villagers, so if I can help, I help. Only when everyone is rich can you call it being rich.

"Once I learn the techniques, I also want to grow button mushrooms," said Zhang Xiulan, who was working at Yu Deming's base. The reason she came to work at Yu Deming's base was that, besides earning some wages, she also wanted to learn growing techniques on site and then go home and do it herself.

It is reported that, driven by Yu Deming's cultivation, Chunhua Mountain Village now has more than 20 button mushroom growing households. The button mushroom industry has become another backbone specialty industry for local villagers to increase income and become rich.