Chen Mingjun builds Dongsun cultivation into a path to prosperity

Leaving the south gate of Dafang county town and following the old Qingbi highway to Potou group in Chuanyan village, Yangchang town, the whole way is green with towering trees. Yet in the past, this place had high mountains and deep valleys, poor soil, sparse vegetation and a harsh ecology. After the implementation of the Grain for Green project, the ecological environment of Chuanyan village improved greatly, and a development path was explored that turns ecological benefits into economic benefits, spawning one legendary rags-to-riches story after another.

Among them is Chen Mingjun, who gave up business to cultivate Dongsun across the hillsides and lead the people to prosperity.

When we met Chen Mingjun, he was leading the members of the cooperative in harvesting Dongsun. Chen Mingjun said they had to take advantage of the good weather and harvest the Dongsun in time. Before him, the Dongsun that had broken through the soil clustered together, clump after clump, pile after pile, growing vigorously and delightfully.

Dafang's environment and climate are very suitable for Dongsun cultivation, giving it a uniquely advantageous position. In recent years, as the Dongsun industry has developed day by day, many local people have earned their first pot of gold by cultivating Dongsun. Dafang has also become the country's main producing area for Dongsun and is known as the "home of Dongsun."

In the 1970s and 1980s, Chen Mingjun and his brothers devoted themselves to the cultivation and technical research of Dongsun, Gastrodia elata and Ganoderma lucidum, and formed an inseparable bond with the cultivation of Dongsun, Gastrodia elata and Ganoderma lucidum.

Through long-term contact with Dongsun, the four Chen brothers accumulated rich experience in Dongsun cultivation and developed a set of techniques for Dongsun spawn production, cultivation, management, drying and storage. They also put the wild Gastrodia elata they found into artificial cultivation, used asexual propagation to obtain Gastrodia elata seeds for cultivation, and pioneered imitation-wild Gastrodia elata cultivation in Dafang.

The Dongsun spawn they produced was sold to surrounding cities and counties, and even to Zhenxiong in Yunnan, Gulin in Sichuan and other places. Every year, the spawn alone sold amounted to twenty to thirty tonnes, with income of nearly 300,000 yuan.

Starting in 1985, Chen Mingjun did business in Gastrodia elata, Ganoderma lucidum and Dongsun in the Zunyi area. Every year he handled dozens of tonnes of Gastrodia elata, Ganoderma lucidum and Dongsun bought and sold, and achieved good economic returns. Chen Mingjun himself also came to own a house and a shop in downtown Zunyi.

In recent years, seeing that his hometown's ecology had improved but that many people still had not escaped poverty, Chen Mingjun felt that one person being rich did not count as being rich; only when everyone is rich is it true wealth. So he had the idea of returning home to start a business and lead everyone to prosperity together.

Chen Mingjun said that although he had been striving away from home, he always followed his hometown's development through various channels. In March 2015, with more than 2 million yuan in savings earned from his business, he established the Jiuliqing Planting Professional Cooperative in Potou group, using a "cooperative + base + farmers" model to guide local people in cultivating Dongsun, Gastrodia elata and Ganoderma lucidum.

With the professional cooperative, the villagers saw hope for prosperity. In addition to earning some income by working at the cooperative, they also developed their own cultivation under Chen Mingjun's guidance. Chen Mingjun said that leading the people to prosperity together and shared prosperity was his greatest wish.

Last October, when Governor Sun Zhigang visited Potou group for research, he hoped Chen Mingjun would expand the planting area, make the business bigger and stronger, and lead the villagers to prosperity together. Chen Mingjun said he was very excited at the time but also more confident, and immediately promised the governor: he would definitely expand the scale and make this land bloom everywhere.

Chen Mingjun said the governor encouraged him to make the professional cooperative bigger. He kept the entrustment firmly in mind, worked hard to expand the scale and strengthen his capabilities, better drive villagers to increase their incomes and become prosperous, fulfill his promise, and lead the villagers to common prosperity and a moderately prosperous life.

This year, Chen Mingjun planted more than 30,000 sq m of Dongsun, and this year is the first harvest season. Chen Mingjun did the math: Dongsun has relatively good economic returns; planting 400 sq m per mu, with a dry-product yield of 120 jin per mu, calculated at a market price of 270 yuan per jin, gives an output value of more than 30,000 yuan per mu.

Chen Mingjun said happily that this year's Dongsun grew well, and an income of 700,000 to 800,000 yuan was no problem. In addition to cultivating Dongsun, Chen Mingjun also vigorously develops the cultivation of Chinese medicinal herbs. At present, he cultivates Gastrodia elata, maca, Ganoderma lucidum and other Chinese medicinal herbs, with annual income of 50,000 to 60,000 yuan as well.

According to Chen Mingjun, at present the Jiuliqing Planting Professional Cooperative has 12 impoverished households. After this year's harvest, the better-off among them should make 30,000 to 40,000 yuan, and the least should make 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.

Chen Mingjun also guided villagers in Dongguan, Liulong, Changshi, Piaojing and other townships to plant more than 100,000 sq m of Dongsun, and purchases it at a floor price of 200 yuan per jin, making Dongsun a prosperity industry and helping local impoverished people take off the "hat" of poverty

On May 29 this year, Dafang county established the Dongsun Association, and Chen Mingjun was elected president of the Southern District Dongsun Association, coordinating and guiding Dongsun cultivation, processing and sales in the southern district to drive more people to develop Dongsun cultivation and increase their incomes.

In June, during the Fourth National Gastrodia elata Conference held in Dafang, Dafang Dongsun attracted the attention of industry personnel nationwide. In August, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine organized experts in Beijing to review Dafang Dongsun's application for national geographical indication product status. Dafang Dongsun ultimately passed the expert review, marking that Dafang Dongsun became a national geographical indication product.

Chen Mingjun said that the government's strong support was like a reassurance pill for Dongsun growers, filling everyone with confidence in cultivating Dongsun. He hopes to further expand the scale of Dongsun cultivation and drive more ordinary people onto the path to prosperity through Dongsun cultivation.