Bazhong Man Returns Home Twice to Grow Mushrooms, Leading Villagers to Prosper Together
Wang Maoquan (right) holding a meeting with employees
"No rainbow without going through wind and rain." This is what mushroom grower Wang Maoquan often says during his journey to prosperity. Wang Maoquan spent nearly 14 years of his youth building and expanding his mushroom farm. After achieving some success in his career, he never forgot the help he received from villagers and society, and used an innovative growing model to lead villagers to prosperity together.
Determined to Escape Poverty by Growing Mushrooms, Facing Many Twists and Turns Along the Way
Wang Maoquan, a native of Shutai Village, Cengkou Town, Bazhou District, set out to work after graduating from high school in 1996 because of his family's poverty. Determined to escape poverty and give his family a prosperous life, he followed relatives and friends to Zhejiang and worked at a mushroom farm. After five years of learning, he had become a skilled mushroom grower. In 2001, Wang Maoquan returned home and started a mushroom farm, but encountered a series of problems including limited funds, small production scale and low returns. By 2003, Wang Maoquan felt the situation was beyond saving and gave up the mushroom farm.
Afterwards, Wang Maoquan went to Datong, Shanxi, and began chasing the coal mine "black gold." It happened to be the "golden period" of coal mines, so Wang Maoquan used his remaining funds to start a transport business at the coal mine. By 2008, Wang Maoquan's assets had reached several million. At this time, the coal mining industry began to fluctuate, and Wang Maoquan, who had never forgotten his former mushroom farm, resolutely returned home to prepare to grow mushrooms again.
Returning to the Mushroom Farm, Benefiting from Preferential Policies When Funds Were Tight
In August 2010, Wang Maoquan's mushroom farm began to take shape, and its returns improved accordingly. In 2011, Wang Maoquan decided to expand on the original foundation, investing more than 1.6 million yuan, transferring over 300 mu of land, and building 120 mu of mushroom farm, and began operations in full swing.
"After the mushroom farm expanded, we lacked professional mushroom-growing technicians, so we went to Zhejiang to hire professionals. No one expected that in the first year, problems arose with the mushroom bags in the farm, the mushrooms produced nothing, and all the invested funds went down the drain. At the time I tried hard to appear calm, but inside I was extremely distressed. Facing these irrecoverable losses, I had to bear all the consequences alone and find a way to ensure production could return to normal the following year. What to do without money? The only option was to apply for a bank loan. It happened that the country had a startup loan program at the time, and loans could get preferential terms, so I applied to the bank. After obtaining the loan, the mushroom farm got back on track," Wang Maoquan told a Bazhong News Network reporter.
Innovating the Growing Model, Leading More Than 30 Villager Households Out of Poverty to Prosperity
In 2014, in light of the national economic situation and under the guidance of professors from Sichuan Agricultural University, Wang Maoquan traveled across the country to study agricultural projects and brought excellent agricultural development models back to his hometown Cengkou. At the same time, combining local realities, he formulated a new production and operation model of company plus farmer households.
"The mushroom farm has already achieved large-scale production and also has good market sales channels. Because the products have a market, surrounding villagers have come to the farm to learn from us. So far, more than 30 households are growing mushrooms. The company is responsible for guiding villagers in mushroom-growing techniques, and the villagers who grow the mushrooms are fully responsible for selling them themselves. This model can not only lead hometown people to start businesses and prosper, but also let everyone feel happiness," Wang Maoquan said.
In addition, after establishing the new mushroom farm in 2011, Wang Maoquan began hiring disabled people and stay-at-home laborers from the village so they could work nearby while also taking good care of their families.
At present, Wang Maoquan's mushroom farm has more than 30 regular workers, and Wang Maoquan has also bought two types of insurance for them. The farm's production period runs from September each year to the end of March the following year, during which about 100 or more workers are needed, all drawn from households around the farm. "Only when everyone is rich is it truly rich," Wang Maoquan said.