Fufu bamboo shoots help Gaoliang Town, Deqing County, Guangdong pave a road to prosperity
The dug-up fu bamboo shoots are even thicker than an arm wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket.
Gaoliang Town is the largest town in Deqing County. It is mostly mountainous and hilly, and the land is covered with iron-rich red soil, a "hotbed" for the growth of fu bamboo shoots. Farmers here take advantage of the unique natural conditions to grow a purely natural green product - fu bamboo shoots - and have embarked on a path to prosperity and higher income. On a recent morning, a reporter went to learn about their recipe for wealth.
A purely natural green product that can be eaten raw
That morning, led by fu bamboo shoot grower Yao Daliang, the reporter came to the bamboo forest where he grows fu bamboo shoots. Yao Daliang's bamboo forest is nearly 1 km from the foot of the mountain. Walking up the mountain road, the vegetation along the way was green and lush, and the air was fresh, making one feel relaxed and happy.
After about half an hour, the reporter and the group arrived at Yao Daliang's bamboo forest. Looking out, the bamboo forest covering the mountain was lush and green, and every bamboo grew straight upward, with firm stalks and smooth, emerald-green leaves. Pointing to this stretch of well-growing bamboo forest, Yao Daliang proudly told the reporter: "This is a purely natural green food that needs no fertilizer or pesticide, and it basically needs no tending."
The reporter saw that the fu bamboo shoots were growing in soft red soil. At this point, Yao Daliang observed the ground, and after seeing the cracked, raised soil, he swung his iron spade and began digging for shoots. In less than a minute, a fu bamboo shoot more than 30 cm long and about 10 cm in diameter was revealed. Yao Daliang dug out the fu bamboo shoot and gestured with it. "It weighs 3 kg, more than an arm." The villagers accompanying him exclaimed in amazement.
Yao Daliang said: "Fu bamboo shoots are crisp and refreshing. I'll cut some for you to try." "Fu bamboo shoots can be eaten raw?" One non-local person in the group was very surprised. Yao Daliang peeled and washed the fu bamboo shoot, cut it open and shared it with everyone to try. "The taste is fresh, sweet and refreshing, a bit like sweet sugarcane. This is the first time I knew bamboo shoots could be eaten raw. They truly deserve to be called a green natural food," said Ms. Huang, who was with the group.
"Online and offline" efforts combine to bring fu bamboo shoots out of the mountains
Yao Daliang has been growing fu bamboo shoots for 8 years, from just two or three mu of bamboo forest at first to seven or eight mu now. He said that mid-January to late April each year is the growing and harvest season for fu bamboo shoots. One bamboo plant can produce more than 10 kg of fu bamboo shoots, and the largest fu bamboo shoots can weigh 4-5 kg. Yao Daliang's bamboo forest yields about 500 kg per mu. Calculated at 20 yuan per kg of fu bamboo shoots, his annual net income is 60,000 to 70,000 yuan.
Yao Daliang said he chose to grow fu bamboo shoots because he saw that his brother-in-law Deng Guofei had tasted the benefits of growing them. Deng Guofei is a farmer from Libao Village, Gaoliang Village Committee, Gaoliang Town. After returning from military service, he saw that his ancestors all grew Gaoliang fu bamboo shoots. These fu bamboo shoots are fresh and sweet, refreshing and fiberless, and are called by locals "the treasure among spring bamboo shoots." Market demand is also large and the prospects are broad, so he began growing fu bamboo shoots in 2005, and by now the planting area has reached more than 20 mu.
Deng Guofei told the reporter that many people in their village grow fu bamboo shoots, and large grower Deng Shaoquan has planted more than 100 mu. "With so many people growing them, aren't you worried about market saturation?" In response to the reporter's question, Deng Guofei answered with great certainty: "No. Fu bamboo shoots are a healthy food. In addition to being sold locally and in Zhaoqing, the products are also sold to Foshan and other places through buyers." He said that local restaurants and eateries basically all purchase fu bamboo shoots, and two years ago they began selling fu bamboo shoots through e-commerce platforms to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and other places. At present, online sales orders average about 150 kg per day, the usual price is 20 yuan/kg, and at the highest it can sell for 60 yuan/kg.
In addition, villagers also use the WeChat platform to promote sales, and Deng Shaoquan even went to Beijing to promote them nationwide, bringing Gaoliang fu bamboo shoots out of the mountains and onto the dining tables of countless households.
Villagers buy new cars and build new houses by growing fu bamboo shoots
Yao Daliang told the reporter that since growing fu bamboo shoots, his family has built a 4-story new house in the market town and also bought a truck worth more than 100,000 yuan. Their small life is quite good.
Deng Guofei also built a 3-story new house with the income after growing fu bamboo shoots for 3 years, and also bought a private car. He said: "I didn't want to go out to work long ago. I worked hard for only a few thousand yuan a month, and I had to leave my hometown. I might as well run my own fu bamboo shoot business well at my doorstep."
Like Yao Daliang and others, there are quite a few growers who have become rich by growing fu bamboo shoots. According to statistics, at present, Gaoliang Town, Deqing County, has nearly 1,000 fu bamboo shoot growing households, a planting area of more than 3,000 mu, and an annual output value of 20 million yuan. Growing fu bamboo shoots has become a good route for local farmers to become rich and increase their income.