Lahu woman Li Lanzhen gets rich by growing pollution-free vegetables
Born into a poor family, Li Lanzhen started her business with 5000 yuan raised through borrowing, and led the Lahu folks in the mountainous area onto a path of shared prosperity through growing pollution-free vegetables. In the course of operations, she strictly controls vegetable quality and provides the market with high-quality, low-priced, fresh pollution-free vegetables. Three years ago, the pollution-free vegetable production area certification and the use of the pollution-free vegetable mark that she applied for passed the agricultural product safety certification of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
Raising funds to start a business and embarking on a path of pollution-free vegetables covering production, supply and marketing
Li Lanzhen's birthplace is a poor and backward Lahu village, where many villagers had no habit of growing vegetables. From the time she started primary school, she resolved to accomplish something when she grew up and to throw off poverty and backwardness.
In 2004, at only 23 years old and with a junior high school education, she raised 5000 yuan through various channels, built two simple greenhouses for growing vegetables, and embarked on the road of entrepreneurship. Without technical knowledge or experience, she learned while growing, and basically made no money in the first two years. She did not lose heart, sought advice from teachers in many ways, and with the government's support got the opportunity to attend greenhouse vegetable growing training in Chengdu, Sichuan, Yunnan Agricultural University and Pu'er Agricultural School, and also hired a technician from the vegetable station as a technical adviser.
Three years later, she was growing 16 varieties of vegetables. The products met the needs of her own village and were also sold to markets such as Huimin and Mengman, with an annual income of more than 32000 yuan. Her family built a brick-and-tile house and bought a tractor for vegetable transport. In 2010, the Lancang Lanzhen Vegetable Growing Farmers' Professional Cooperative was established. From then on, she led the folks of the Lahu mountain village onto a path of pollution-free vegetables integrating production, supply and marketing.
Pollution-free vegetable production area passes Ministry of Agriculture agricultural product safety certification
As business expanded, in April 2010, Li Lanzhen established the Lancang Lanzhen Vegetable Growing Farmers' Professional Cooperative and served as its chairwoman. The cooperative clearly defines the duties of the board of directors, the board chairman and each director, and adopts voluntary membership, with more than 100 member households at present. She finds orders and markets for members, organizes products uniformly for sale on the market, and achieves reasonable distribution through intermediary connections.
Li Lanzhen stresses that in the course of operations she strictly controls vegetable quality, ensures that consumers can eat safe, reassuring pollution-free fresh vegetables, and improves the scientific, technological and cultural quality of members and farmers. She provides the market with high-quality, low-priced, fresh pollution-free vegetables. The cooperative focuses mainly on delivery and has direct sales outlets for pollution-free vegetables in major supermarkets and main streets of Lancang county town, with delivery targets mainly primary and secondary schools and social organizations. At present, the per capita income of cooperative members reaches 7579 yuan, 108% more than the county's per capita farmers' income of 3652 yuan.
For many years, her deeds in leading the Lahu folks in the mountainous area to shared prosperity have been affirmed by the local government. In November 2013, the pollution-free vegetable production area certification and the use of the pollution-free vegetable mark that she applied for passed the agricultural product safety certification of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.