How did she get red-fleshed kiwifruit out of the mountain valley and selling nationwide?
Profile: Li Daozhen
Born in 1963 in Fuhe Township, Muchuan County, she is vice president of the Sichuan Provincial Federation of Farmers' Professional Cooperatives, chairwoman of the Muchuan County Yimin Kiwifruit Professional Cooperative, and a leader in the kiwifruit industry development of Muchuan County. In 1999, Li Daozhen contracted the barren hills of Gaofeng Temple in her hometown to set up an orchard. Today, the cooperative she founded has 5,400 member households, has driven the development of 70,000 mu of kiwifruit planting, and its red-fleshed kiwifruit sells nationwide.
In late August, it is peak season for kiwifruit on the market, but at the Gaofeng Temple orchard in Fuhe Township, Muchuan County, Leshan, the expanses of red-fleshed kiwifruit are not yet ripe. Walking along the mountain path, orchard owner Li Daozhen is not anxious, because since two months ago, customers have been calling continuously to order kiwifruit from her.
[Starting Out]
Building an orchard on barren hills
She spent four years settling on kiwifruit
At the Gaofeng Temple orchard in Fuhe Township, Muchuan County, kiwifruit vines cover the hillsides, laden with fruit about to ripen. Li Daozhen inspects them while chatting with the reporter: "In the past there were only a few tea bushes on the mountain. This whole stretch was barren land, and the villagers grazed their cattle here."
In 1999, Li Daozhen was still running a store in Muchuan County town doing a building materials business. When she heard that her hometown was preparing to auction the use rights to a long-abandoned collective tea plantation, she, unable to sit idle, was tempted. "I came from a farming family myself. At the time I thought, could this 80 mu of mountain land be developed?" Since there was no water supply and no road on the mountain, after contracting the barren hills, Li Daozhen and her husband discussed it for a long while and decided to start an orchard and plant fruit trees that were easy to grow and manage. After nearly 4 months of investigation, in October 1999 the orchard trial-planted more than a dozen kinds of fruit trees, among them the new red-fleshed Hongyang kiwifruit that would later be planted throughout Muchuan.
"We were the first in Sichuan to start growing Hongyang (kiwifruit), but we planted few at the time, all along the edge of the orchard." Li Daozhen told the reporter that during those hard days, by day she ran her store in the county town, and at night she and her husband climbed the mountain with flashlights to check the orchard. They lived in a mud-walled house and built a stove out of stones to cook: "It wasn't until 2006 that a dirt road was built. Before that, going up the mountain took more than 1 hour, and everything had to be carried by horse or on our backs. Sometimes we were still on the mountain road at 11 p.m."
Not knowing how to grow crops, the couple bought books to read, and whenever they found a problem, they asked around for advice. "The red dates didn't taste good, the nectarines suffered pest damage. We failed many times, until September 2003 when the kiwifruit bore fruit." Li Daozhen told the reporter that high yield, good taste and easy management made them finally settle on Hongyang kiwifruit.
[Venturing Out]
Carrying the fruit around trade fairs
The red-fleshed fruit from the mountain valley became famous overnight
The first time it bore fruit, the kiwifruit yield was only 250 kg. Li Daozhen did not focus on quick profits, but took the fruit everywhere to promote it, even setting up a stall at the market and inviting people to taste it for free. It happened to coincide with the 4th Western China International Expo being held in Chengdu, and Li Daozhen seized the opportunity, taking fewer than 10 boxes of kiwifruit to Chengdu.
"We had no booth, so we carried the kiwifruit around the Western China International Expo and invited people to taste it." What Li Daozhen did not expect was that this "venture" would earn Muchuan kiwifruit unanimous praise from domestic and foreign merchants. "Although I can't speak English, the taste of the kiwifruit is the best explanation." Li Daozhen told the reporter that at that Western China International Expo, she received orders for nearly 3,000 tons.
The orchard's output was far from reaching that much, but this successful appearance at the expo made Li Daozhen even more determined to grow kiwifruit well. And the sensation at the Western China International Expo also made some farmers keenly see the prospects of Muchuan kiwifruit. With government promotion, in November 2003, the "Muchuan County Kiwifruit Professional Cooperative" was established, with the Gaofeng Temple orchard as its leader.
"We planted all 80 mu of the Gaofeng Temple orchard with kiwifruit. Adding what the members planted, the cooperative had 300 mu of kiwifruit at the time." Li Daozhen said.
[Recognition]
Farmers came to her on their own
She led her fellow villagers onto the road to prosperity
Driven by Li Daozhen, Muchuan County began developing kiwifruit planting, covering 19 townships and even areas inside and outside Leshan. But Li Daozhen told the reporter that getting everyone to accept red-fleshed kiwifruit was not an easy thing.
"At first, when we trial-planted, everyone was skeptical. We offered seedlings to others, but no one would take them." Li Daozhen told the reporter that in 2003, red-fleshed kiwifruit sold for 10 yuan per kg, more than 5 times that of other kiwifruit. Seeing the kiwifruit bear fruit and the cooperative established, the villagers gradually began to take an interest in kiwifruit.
To ease their concerns, Li Daozhen took the initiative to gather the villagers for training and let them personally sample and inspect the orchard. To encourage the villagers to grow kiwifruit, the orchard also provided various kinds of help to poor households, first supplying seedlings at a low price or even free of charge, and then accepting kiwifruit as payment after 4 years. "Red-fleshed kiwifruit gradually became more famous, which also did invisible publicity for us. Later, farmers would even come to us on their own and actively join us." Li Daozhen said.
With seedling supply, technical training and brand sales, the villagers got onto the road to prosperity by growing kiwifruit. In 2015, the per capita net income of members and the farmers they drove reached 8,728 yuan, 2,200 yuan higher than the county's per capita net income of farmers. "Last year my family had 2 mu of kiwifruit vines bearing fruit, with income of more than 30,000 yuan. This year the fruit set is greater than last year, and I expect income to rise by more than 10,000 yuan." Liu Zhongbin, a poor household in Yanwan Village, Fuhe Township, told the reporter that with the cooperative's help he does not worry about sales; his only worry is that the harvested kiwifruit will not be enough to sell.
[Hot Sales]
Orders began half a year ago
Premium fruit sells for 140 yuan per kg
In 2008, Li Daozhen's cooperative was registered with the industry and commerce authorities and renamed the Muchuan County Yimin Kiwifruit Professional Cooperative. Afterwards, the Gaofeng Temple orchard was also registered and renamed Sichuan Xufeng Fruit Industry Co., Ltd., and its leading product, "Xufeng" brand kiwifruit, passed "Green Food" certification and "Organic Product" certification.
"Now our kiwifruit output can reach more than 3,000 tons. As the core, the Gaofeng Temple orchard sold organic premium fruit for 140 yuan per kg last year." Li Daozhen told the reporter that with herbicides banned, no chemical fertilizers used and no swelling agents applied, the cooperative's kiwifruit are not large individually and do not look impressive. And because they ripen naturally, the harvest time is later than other kiwifruit, with the bumper harvest not arriving until mid-September. To build the brand, the cooperative strictly controls the kiwifruit, refusing to accept kiwifruit that used swelling agents or did not follow management requirements, and even expelling members from the cooperative.
It is precisely this persistence that lets the red-fleshed kiwifruit here keep the best taste and win both the market and reputation. "In February this year, a customer in Beijing already called to pre-order kiwifruit for September." Li Daozhen told the reporter with a smile that from June to now, more than 120 high-end customers from all over the country have contacted her to place orders, and the kiwifruit here truly achieves "sold before harvested."
[The Future]
Members cover areas inside and outside the city
Turning Muchuan kiwifruit into an industrial chain
The small red-fleshed kiwifruit has now become a distinctive agricultural industry of Muchuan County.
"At present our members have reached 5,400 households, of which more than 1,000 are poor households." Li Daozhen told the reporter that not only Leshan, but also Yibin, Liangshan, Yunnan and other places now have cooperative members. "The cooperative has driven the development of 70,000 mu of kiwifruit planting, of which more than 40,000 mu is local to Muchuan."
"Last year we began developing e-commerce and sold more than 10 tons of red-fleshed kiwifruit through the platforms of some online distributors." Li Daozhen's son, Song Liping, is 26 this year and is in charge of sales at the company. He told the reporter that this year the cooperative has reached cooperation with more than 10 distributors on platforms such as Taobao and JD.com. "Customers from other places can find our Muchuan red-fleshed kiwifruit online. This year's online sales are expected to double last year's."
As for future plans, Li Daozhen still has longer-term goals.
"We have always wanted to form a complete industrial chain and drive the development of packaging and transportation." Li Daozhen told the reporter that in February this year, a processing plant on the outskirts of Muchuan County town officially began construction, with the first phase investing 10 million yuan, including the construction of a cold storage facility with a capacity of 2,000 tons. "After completion in October this year, the processing plant will solve problems such as sorting, storage and distribution of kiwifruit, reducing everyone's production risks."
"Afterwards, we will also carry out construction here for scientific research, visits, deep processing and other aspects, making this a window for displaying Muchuan red-fleshed kiwifruit." Speaking of the future, Li Daozhen is full of confidence.