Farmers in Changshou Village, Shanxi, Make Money by Farming Online

Cao Keqin, a villager in Changshou Village, Shanxi Province, transferred his family's 13 mu of farmland to an agricultural cooperative and then began working for the cooperative, and other villagers followed suit one after another. "Pooling the land into the cooperative and then 'going online' to have it farmed separately by others brings in much more than farming it yourself," Cao Keqin said.

The "online" farming Cao Keqin referred to is a farm project of the "Xiangtian Farm" agricultural cooperative in Jiexiu City, Shanxi Province. The cooperative consolidated 1000 mu of land around Changshou Village in Jiexiu City, then divided it into 6000 shares and sold them online through Alibaba's "Xiangtian Farm" channel. After consumers placed orders, they would obtain the right to one year's millet output from the farm's land. Customers could watch the farm's growing conditions via mobile video at any time and from any place, and the farm's farmers would plant according to the customers' requirements.

Changshou Village is a small village with 220 households. Most villagers work part-time jobs when free and farm when busy. The village's 1500 mu of farmland has decent yields, but the trouble is that it cannot be sold. Farming is enough to eat, but supporting a family still requires working outside. Village Party secretary Cao Lixin said helplessly: "Running back and forth between the city and the village, you put in no less effort, yet you can't make money on either side, and you can neither move up nor settle down."

Now nearly 120 households in Changshou Village cooperate with the agricultural cooperative, either transferring their land to the cooperative or leasing it to the cooperative, and then working for the cooperative. "I sent all three of my sons to work in the county, rented my own land to the cooperative, and then work at the cooperative. The cooperative has mechanized equipment and expert guidance, and most importantly, the output rights to the land were sold online long ago, so there's no need to worry about sales," said villager Niu Yusuo.

Niu Yusuo did the math: although millet is valuable, growing too much of it means it cannot be sold and can only be eaten at home, while corn, though low in price, has buyers, so corn had to be the main crop, and after a year the income from one mu of land was only 400 yuan to 500 yuan. Now, having joined the cooperative, online sales mean there is no need to worry about where to sell, transferring one mu of land brings in 660 yuan, and the cooperative signs a minimum purchase price with farmers before planting; adding the money earned from labor, annual income at least doubles.

Young people can go out to work with peace of mind, while those who stay in the village have a steady income, can also earn money by doing suitable labor, and do not have to worry about having no market for their products. The people of Changshou Village have found a new path to prosperity.

Zhang Zi, head of the agricultural cooperative, said that with the help of Alibaba's platform, the cooperative "went online" to sell land output rights, and sold 176 shares on the very first day it was listed, bringing in more than 100,000 yuan in revenue. After one day on Taobao's Juhuasuan platform, it sold 12,900 orders, with sales exceeding 250,000 yuan. "The cooperative 'going online' to sell products and farmers 'going online' to farm: this new planting model first solves farmers' worries about farming, lets farmers throw themselves into their work, and also raises farmers' 'spirits,'" Zhang Zi said.

Farmers in Changshou Village can also strengthen exchanges with the people who subscribe to the land output rights. The remote and isolated small mountain village not only promotes its high-quality agricultural products, but also continuously strengthens communication with the outside world, bringing "vitality" to rural life.