Tiny shiitake mushrooms pave a road to prosperity

Recently, at the planting base of the Dawashan Edible Fungi Professional Cooperative in Daping Village, Yongsheng Township, Jinkouhe District, Wang Xiang, a migrant worker who returned home, was observing the growth of shiitake mushrooms. Light brown shiitake mushrooms, one after another, grew on the mushroom sticks like little umbrellas, and the fresh tender mushrooms clustered tightly together, growing very promisingly. Four years ago, Wang Xiang, who had gone out to work, discovered that Daping Village's climate conditions were very suitable for shiitake mushroom growth, so he brought in investors to establish the Dawashan Edible Fungi Professional Cooperative, and he himself became a member of the cooperative.

“A few years ago, I helped others grow mushrooms outside, and my monthly wage was only two or three thousand yuan, so life was very hard. Now I grow more than 10 mu of mushrooms myself in Daping Village, and the returns are very good.” Wang Xiang said that under his careful care, the planting base grew stronger day by day, more and more people bought mushrooms, and his own wallet became fuller and fuller.

“Being rich yourself does not count as being rich; only when all the villagers become prosperous and live good lives does that count as truly being rich.” Wang Xiang encouraged local villagers to join the cooperative in the form of land shares, implementing the “four unifications and two separations” mechanism of unified seed supply, unified production of mushroom sticks, unified technical guidance, unified transport and sales, household-based production management, and household-based settlement, forming an effective “company + farmers” business model.

“After joining the cooperative, our living conditions improved, and life has gotten better and better.” Wang Chuanqing, 76 years old this year, is one of the cooperative members and also a local targeted poverty alleviation household. All three people in his family are disabled, so the cooperative allowed him to join with contracted land as shares and gave him priority in working at the cooperative, making the shiitake mushroom greenhouse a stable source of livelihood for his family.

It is understood that since the Dawashan Edible Fungi Professional Cooperative was established in 2014, its planting area has increased from 40 mu to more than 100 mu now, with annual total output value of more than 4 million yuan and net income of 1.8 million yuan, providing employment for more than 100 surplus rural laborers and helping 110 farmer households escape poverty and become prosperous.

“Since its establishment, 30 households in the village have joined the cooperative.” Zhang Fengkui, Party secretary of Daping Village, introduced that in 2016 all targeted poverty alleviation households in the village joined the cooperative, increasing the income of villagers in difficulty. Next, the cooperative will continue to increase investment. In addition to the existing black shiitake mushrooms, white fungus, and wood ear fungus, it will also add other varieties suitable for planting, and through industrial structural adjustment, drive villagers to increase income and become prosperous according to local conditions.