Overcoming the Technical Challenges of Edible Mushroom Cultivation, Tianjin's "Local Expert" Helps Villagers Increase Production and Income
As the Spring Festival drew nearer, the vibrant lingzhi mushrooms and plump oyster mushrooms in the greenhouse had been almost fully reserved by customers. Zhao Yuxiang, hailed by villagers as a "local expert," could not stop grinning in front of the reporter's camera. "I am happy not only because my edible mushroom cultivation has yielded a great harvest, but even more because the dream I promised my fellow villagers, of getting rich together, has shown real results."
When people talk about Zhao Yuxiang, a farmer from Shuangkou No. 2 Village, Shuangkou Town, Beichen District, Tianjin, China, the villagers all give him a thumbs-up. Now in his seventies, he was born with a disability in his right hand, yet he has always strived for self-improvement, devoting himself to the study and dissemination of agricultural technology. In 2005, he was even awarded the title of "Advanced Worker in Science Popularization in Tianjin."
The reporter saw that Zhao Yuxiang's bedside and desk were covered with science and education publications and notes on his experiences. In recent years, he has attempted to tackle the technical challenges of edible mushroom cultivation and achieved initial results. In particular, since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the Chinese Dream, which inspired Zhao Yuxiang to have his own dream as well: to do everything he can to blaze a trail in edible mushroom cultivation, making it an industry that helps the villagers around him get rich together.
In order to share his cultivation experience with fellow villagers, Zhao Yuxiang has held various special training courses on an irregular basis every year. A villager told the reporter, "The biggest feature of his training courses is that he guarantees to teach, guarantees that students will learn, and charges no fees. When he encounters students from out of town who are in difficulty, he even pays out of his own pocket to provide meals while teaching." Whenever villagers come to him for advice, Zhao Yuxiang always speaks about it with great familiarity and enthusiasm, never tiring of it: "My greatest enjoyment is none other than the fact that the cultivation methods I have figured out can help the villagers around me earn money."
After agricultural experts came to the village to inspect the edible mushroom cultivation, they said that the lingzhi mushrooms carefully cultivated by Zhao Yuxiang have strong strain resistance and are suitable for cultivation, with no pesticide damage or pollution throughout the entire growth process; the spore powder harvested is of excellent quality and high economic benefit. Under the leadership and help of this "local expert," Shuangkou Town has developed more than 100 edible mushroom growing households cultivating oyster mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, lingzhi mushrooms, and more, with an annual output of more than 2 million kilograms and benefits reaching 1.6 million yuan. Zhao Yuxiang, however, is not content with the status quo and continues to devote himself to research. In his spare time, he has also compiled his cultivation experience into a book, hoping that in 2016 he can help more fellow villagers join the ranks of getting rich together.