Blueberry farming boosts rural incomes as Wu Shunyou leads the community to shared prosperity

On September 21, this writer saw the owner and some workers at the Liangping Shunyou Blueberry Family Farm busy weeding and fertilizing the blueberries, getting ready for winter management. They welcomed us very warmly.

"My blueberry orchard is not only on this slope here, but there is also a large patch over in that bend." Wu Shunyou said as he pointed to the hillside opposite. "This year these trees have already borne fruit, and the income was about 70,000 to 80,000 yuan." Following where Old Wu pointed, this writer estimated by eye that the blueberries across the whole hillside covered about 20 to 30 mu.

"Part of this land I exchanged for with paddy fields, and part was given to me by relatives and friends who went out to work. In recent years, as more people have gone out to work, some of the land on the hillside has been left idle. Seeing the weeds growing on it, I felt it was a great pity, so I took soil samples to Yongchuan to have them tested, and the researchers said it was suitable for growing blueberries. So despite my family's objections, I began pursuing my own idea - growing blueberries - and I never expected that this experiment would succeed. This single plant alone bore more than 3 jin." Speaking of his entrepreneurial journey in blueberry growing, Wu Shunyou felt very satisfied.

It is understood that Wu Shunyou is a Party member villager from Group 7 of Jingba Village, Ansheng Township, Liangping County. Having spent many years away from home, he saw that his hometown had still not changed much and wanted to try to open up a new path to lead the villagers in increasing their incomes and getting rich. In early 2015, with the help of friends, he spent more than 100,000 yuan to introduce blueberry saplings and began running a family farm.

"This year all the blueberries were picked by visitors who came to the farm, and demand exceeded supply. I plan to expand the scale a bit more." Wu Shunyou said.