City girl grows vegetables in the countryside, ecological farming sets her on the road to prosperity
In Luzhou City, Sichuan, Song Xiaolan, who grew up in the city, spotted the business opportunity in growing ecological vegetables and resolutely walked into Dongyunba in Fenshuiling Town, Jiangyang District, Luzhou City. She invested nearly 2 million yuan to level the land, buy vegetable seedlings and build greenhouses... She contracted about 1,000 mu of land to grow ecological vegetables, founded the Dongyunba Vegetable and Fruit Professional Cooperative, and cultivated her own entrepreneurial dream.
[An Entrepreneurial Road Full of Bumps]
At the very start of her business, setbacks came one after another.
The contracted fields were hard as rock and needed to be softened early on. Because transportation in Dongyunba village was still inconvenient, the machines specially used to soften the soil could not be brought in. Song Xiaolan led the villagers in the cooperative to pour water onto the soil and beat the hard ground with the back of hoes. Even after two months of continuous work, the results were minimal. People around her mocked and sneered, and her family tried every way to talk her out of it, but none of it made her yield. Facing hardship, she stayed calm and kept reclaiming this hard soil persistently. "If you want to get things done, you need a spirit that refuses to admit defeat. I don't believe you can't carve out a road to prosperity from the land!" Song Xiaolan always encouraged herself this way.
In order to expand the ecological vegetable growing project, at the beginning of her business, Song Xiaolan mobilized 3 individual agricultural operators to take part, raising more than 1 million yuan in total, and created the Dongyunba Vegetable and Fruit Professional Cooperative. Agricultural experts and surrounding farmers who had "lost their land" also joined the cooperative.
However, after 2 months, when the partners saw that the fields were still barren and the farmers were still beating the hard soil, they could not help but want to back out. At the same time, the project still needed a large amount of funding support. After discussion, the other 3 partners unanimously decided to withdraw from the project cooperation, and the funds invested in the early stage were lent to Song Xiaolan in the form of debt.
Just like that, the "task" of growing ecological vegetables on more than 1,000 mu fell on Song Xiaolan's shoulders, often pressing her so hard she could hardly breathe.
"You look sallow and thin now. If you hadn't gone to grow vegetables, we wouldn't owe debts to relatives and friends." Song Xiaolan's entrepreneurial dream ran into her husband's opposition. With her partners' withdrawal and no visible returns, she had once thought about giving up.
"But the farmers 'handed' their land to me because they trust me. I don't want to let down the people who trust me. Growing good ecological vegetables has become a 'belief' for me." Song Xiaolan rolled up her sleeves and pant legs. Although she had never done farm work, she learned to raise seedlings, pull weeds and apply fertilizer... She also often sought experience from agricultural experts, and now she has become a farmer of the new era.
Now, the vegetables Song Xiaolan grows are delivered directly to major farmers' markets and large supermarkets in Luzhou City, and are well received by consumers. They are often in short supply, and more and more customers come to her to discuss and reserve vegetables. These vegetables even have their own name - "Jiangyang Vegetables" - green, environmentally friendly, pollution-free, safe and reassuring products.
[Leading Villagers to Prosper Together]
"Carry out ecological vegetable growing, bring our green agricultural products to the national market, and let our fellow villagers all get on the road to prosperity..." Song Xiaolan founded the Dongyunba Vegetable and Fruit Professional Cooperative. While striving to realize her own value, she also did her best to lead the villagers of Dongyunba to prosperity, setting an example of women's entrepreneurship and development through practical action. For this she also won the title of "Advanced Individual" for two consecutive years.
"We have all joined the Dongyunba Vegetable and Fruit Professional Cooperative. Now we have two sources of income, land rent and wages from work, and life keeps getting better!" said Gan Qinghuai, a villager whose land had been transferred. Song Xiaolan paid surrounding villagers 60 yuan a day in wages to help tend the vegetables, fulfilling the villagers' wish to find work at their doorstep.
Ecological vegetables sell well and are widely favored by customers. Nearby villagers, upon hearing the news, came to ask about the new techniques. Song Xiaolan and the cooperative's agricultural experts patiently introduced the growing techniques and development prospects, and often went deep into the fields to provide training, helping villagers master modern agricultural techniques, raising farmers' enthusiasm for growing crops and helping farmers increase their incomes and prosper. At present, the cooperative has absorbed more than 200 member households and has driven farming households in surrounding towns and villages to engage in ecological planting and production and operation.
"The village has undergone great changes. Tens of thousands of mu of land have been leveled, steel-frame greenhouses have been put up, and transportation reaches in all directions. We are full of hope for the future." With the village taking on a new look, the villagers of Dongyunba often beam with joy. Song Xiaolan's entrepreneurship added momentum and vitality to the development of the Dongyunba Modern Agriculture Demonstration Zone project. At the same time, the Dongyunba Modern Agriculture Demonstration Zone project has played a positive role in promoting the adjustment of the agricultural industrial structure, promoting the rapid development of the rural economy, accelerating industrialized agricultural management, raising the level of agricultural science and technology and productivity, improving the quality of life of citizens in surrounding cities, and increasing farmers' incomes.
"In the next 5 years, the cooperative will expand the scale of planting and production, form an industrial chain, bring our green agricultural products to the national market, and make 'Jiangyang Vegetables' famous nationwide." Speaking of the long-term plan, Song Xiaolan was full of confidence.