Figs bear the treasure of prosperity; plant figs and set foot on the road to prosperity
Right now, figs have entered the full fruiting season. Walking into the Songjing Fruit Tree Planting Professional Cooperative in Guangfu Town, Nanchang County, figs purple-red or glossy green hang all over the branches. Picked, sorted, boxed, the fresh figs are transported to market cartload by cartload.
The Songjing Fruit Tree Planting Professional Cooperative is located in Beitou Village, Guangfu Town, and is the largest fig planting science popularization demonstration base in the whole city, with a fig planting area of 180 mu. For the cooperative's employees, the tiny fig has paved a road out of poverty toward prosperity.
“The fig is hailed as the ‘holy fruit of paradise,’ clear and sweet, fragrant and rich in nutrients, with excellent dietary therapeutic effects and medicinal value, and its development prospects are good too. In February 2014, we began planting fig trees to help villagers, especially villagers in difficulty, escape poverty and become prosperous.” said Luo Guoquan, founder of the cooperative. The cooperative has a total of 20 workers, including 8 households in difficulty and 2 households targeted for precise poverty alleviation.
Luo Baoqing is one of those targeted for precise poverty alleviation. Previously, due to a physical disability, she basically had no income and life was hard. After joining the cooperative, her life changed dramatically. Luo Baoqing said: “My legs and feet are not good, so the cooperative arranged for me to work as a packer. Now, my daily income reaches 70 yuan, and over a year my income can exceed 10,000. This self-sufficient work gives me more confidence in life.”
“We rely on figs for industrial poverty alleviation. In order to look after people in difficulty, we have specially set up positions such as packaging, picking and sorting that suit them. Now is exactly the fig picking season. Calculating on the basis of a 4-month picking period, the people in difficulty who take part in picking can earn an income of about 8,000 yuan.” Luo Guoquan introduced that this year the figs are growing well, the fruiting period is long, and market demand is also strong. The fruit trees planted in 2014 have already entered the full fruiting period, with an estimated yield of about 1,000 kg per mu, and the income per mu can reach 30,000 yuan.
“After this year's bumper fig harvest and profits, we plan to expand the planting scale, and at the same time encourage other villagers to join in, providing them with seedlings and technology free of charge, so that more people can set foot on the road to prosperity.” Luo Guoquan said.