Oil peony cultivation takes an unconventional path, and Zhang Daqing made his fortune with it
Recently, the reporter went to Renjiata Village in the town of Lishi District. Driving along the small road into the village, as far as the eye could see, there were fields of oil peonies either just planted or in the process of being planted. Although it was not yet the peak of their vitality, compared with the large stretches of abandoned land before, they nonetheless implied vigorous vitality.
Zhang Daqing is a well-known skilled fortune-maker in the whole town. In 2012, when Zhang Daqing went with friends to Shandong for an inspection tour, being a thoughtful man, he discovered no small business opportunity in it. Where there is an idea, there is action. In order to learn more about oil peony cultivation, Zhang Daqing visited Lu'an Group many times for inspections, gained a detailed understanding of the cultivation and planting knowledge of oil peonies, and brought back relevant reports and data on the industrial development of oil peonies. In 2014, he established the Feichuang Oil Peony Cooperative. The cooperative absorbed all 83 households and 206 poor people in the village as members, with a coverage rate of 100% of poor households. Zhang Daqing divided the entire project into two phases. In the first phase, 300 mu of oil peonies were developed, and in the second phase, 500 mu of oil peonies were developed. Up to now, the planting work for 800 mu of oil peonies has been completed.
When the reporter asked Zhang Daqing how he came to choose to grow oil peonies, he said: "At the time I felt it was quite worth trying. Oil peony is a new type of oil crop. The yield per mu of high-quality seedlings can reach up to 600-800 kg, greatly exceeding the yield of domestic soybean, peanut and other oil crops; the oil extraction rate is as high as 22%, much higher than domestic soybean; peony oil has a relatively high linolenic acid content, with notable effects on infant brain development and brain health care for the elderly, and it is also of great benefit for treating high blood lipid conditions. The full-yield period of this crop is 30 years. For farmers, it is a 'diehard crop' that yields lasting benefits from one effort. As a new type of oil crop, compared with traditional oil crops, oil peony has unlimited market prospects. Lu'an Group is also willing to provide our cooperative with the necessary technical support. Then, through various fundraising efforts, I invested 1.6 million yuan myself, used poverty alleviation funds, and added social financing. As for the land, the cooperative is responsible for transferring part of the land and developing part of the barren hills and slopes. In the past two years, 810 mu of machine-leveled terraces, land preparation and planting, and subsequent comprehensive management and protection have been completed."
Where would poor households get the money to become shareholders? After scientific decision-making with the village committee and the poor households, each poor household that took shares transferred its land to the cooperative leader, and after three years of returns, they could directly receive the shares belonging to them. Zhang Daqing calculated the oil peony income account for the shareholding masses: "Our project has a total investment of 3.96 million yuan, with our cooperative as the main body. Poor households in the whole village account for 165 mu of area. If each person has 0.8 mu, that accounts for 20.6% of the shares. The project has now been fully completed this year. Through three years of comprehensive management and protection of the seedlings, the yield per mu can reach at least 100 kg, with a total output of 81,000 kg and income of 810,000 yuan. Each poor person with 0.8 mu has an annual income of 800 yuan. In this way, poor households become shareholders without spending a single cent. At the same time, the cooperative gives priority to organizing poor members who have labor capacity for work, and poor households can also work at the cooperative at their doorstep to earn money. For a rural left-behind family, this is absolutely not a small income.
When talking about the 20 mu of ornamental peonies planted at Baima Xian Cave, Zhang Daqing outlined for the reporter a long-term goal for his cooperative: "Next, I will build a one-stop industrial economic base integrating 'planting, breeding, tourism and sightseeing, catering services, purchasing and processing, sales and profit-making, and technical guidance.' Combining oil peony cultivation with ornamental peony cultivation will not cause pollution, and can also combine with the tourism resources of our Wucheng Town to create a leisure vacation space integrating viewing, experience, and dining. According to the current development prospects, I plan to further promote oil peony cultivation on the existing basis, so that more farmers can enjoy the economic benefits brought by growing oil peonies."