Green strawberry cultivation helps Yu Pengwu get rich
Yu Pengwu, a farmer from Chayuhe Village, Heishi Township, Dunhua City, went abroad to learn new green strawberry cultivation techniques. After 9 years of mastering the "skills," he returned home to start a business and develop a "green strawberry" specialty industry. From mid-November last year to February this year, in 3 months, Yu Pengwu earned a net income of more than 60,000 yuan from growing strawberries.
Yu Pengwu, now 46 years old, is an honest, simple farmer from Chayuhe Village. Because his family had many people, little farmland, and a weak foundation, more than ten years ago, Yu Pengwu's family lived a tight life. Seeing many villagers in neighboring villages get rich, Yu Pengwu felt very anxious. He understood: "It is very hard to become wealthy just by growing traditional crops." In 2004, a relative working abroad told Yu Pengwu: Japan's off-season strawberries have high yields, good quality, are fresh and tender and tasty, and sell well on the market... Yu Pengwu immediately decided to work in Japan to "seek experience" and learn advanced new off-season strawberry cultivation techniques. Over the next more than 9 years, Yu Pengwu and his wife both worked and studied in Japan. They not only "obtained the true knowledge" but also earned money. Over 9 years, they earned more than 1.2 million yuan in labor income.
In 2013, Yu Pengwu and his wife returned to Chayuhe Village with the dream of starting a business back home. After more than a year of market research and careful preparation, in early 2015, Yu Pengwu invested 1.1 million yuan in succession and built 2 high-quality color steel greenhouses totaling 1,500 sq m on his contracted land. He purchased more than 30,000 strawberry seedlings with high yields, good quality, and suitability for the local climate from a strawberry industry technology research institute in Dandong City, Liaoning Province. Using pollution-free production techniques, he vigorously developed a high-quality off-season green strawberry industry. Although many relatives raised doubts and some people mocked him, Yu Pengwu, who was competitive by nature, firmly believed: "Since I have set my mind on this road to wealth, I should walk it without hesitation!"
In strawberry cultivation, Yu Pengwu insists on "adapting to local conditions and putting science and technology first." Combining the advanced strawberry cultivation techniques he learned abroad, he uses pollution-free production techniques, does not apply chemical fertilizers, and does not spray pesticides. From mid-January to early July of the following year, fresh strawberries are available for market. The strawberries he produces are large, high-quality, attractive, sweet, aromatic and rich, fresh and tender and tasty, and are deeply favored by farmers from neighboring villages. Many residents of towns and cities make special trips to Yu Pengwu's "strawberry greenhouse" to pick them on site and buy them wholesale. As of the end of February this year, Yu Pengwu had already earned 60,000 yuan in green strawberry income, and it is expected that by the end of July he can earn 130,000 yuan in income.
On February 28, the reporter came to Chayuhe Village. Although the spring cold was still sharp, Yu Pengwu's "strawberry greenhouse" was full of spring. More than a dozen villagers were either picking ripe strawberries or thinning flowers and fruit; some visitors were carefully picking the tender, dripping strawberries. Yu Pengwu's face was full of joy. Counting on his fingers, he told the reporter: "In the past, when I planted 1 hectare of corn, my net income for a year was only more than 5,000 yuan. Now, using a greenhouse to grow 0.15 hectares of strawberries, I earn a net income of 60,000 yuan in 3 months. Over the 8-month strawberry picking period, I can earn at least more than 120,000 to 130,000 yuan in net income from strawberries. Relying on growing green strawberries to get rich, I really took the right road!"