Farmer-makers dig for gold in the soil and forge a new path to prosperity
They live in pollution-free photovoltaic greenhouses with a constant temperature year-round, and eat a "set meal" made from corn stalks, spent mushroom substrate and the like. Reporters learned yesterday that the special earthworm-breeding project introduced by the Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space has been successfully incubated. The first phase produces 600 tons of earthworms annually, which, as a valuable medicinal material, will create more than 6 million yuan in value. According to reports, since the Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space was officially launched, it has incubated 12 enterprises and multiple incubated projects.
Earthworms move into "air-conditioned rooms"
"Breeding in greenhouses allows good control of temperature, humidity and ventilation, meeting the environmental requirements for earthworm growth and reproduction, and the air, water and soil near the breeding base are all pollution-free." According to reports, the earthworm project, as the first batch of special industries introduced by the Agricultural Maker Space, has successfully landed. The temperature control inside the greenhouse is extremely precise, and the comfort level surpasses that of an air-conditioned room.
Yesterday morning, inside the photovoltaic greenhouse of the Changsheng Ridian Solar Industrial Park in Daxin Town, Jimo, the spring-like temperature made people feel very comfortable. Among the rows of earthworm breeding areas, startup leader Yang Tianshun inspected the earthworms' growth while introducing that, apart from living well, these earthworms also eat a customized set meal. The raw materials for feeding the earthworms are mainly fresh cow dung, supplemented with corn stalks, wheat straw and spent mushroom substrate. Both the breeding environment and the feed have met the standards of pharmaceutical companies for purchasing earthworms.
"The earthworm project has relatively large medicinal value and market space." Yang Tianshun said that when he first had the startup idea, the site, funding and sales channels had troubled him for a long time. Upon learning that Changsheng Ridian's Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space was willing to provide a service platform for small and medium-sized enterprises, he came here with his dream and began incubating his "earthworm dream."
600 tons of earthworm medicinal material produced annually
"After moving into the Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space, Changsheng Ridian Company gave great support to the earthworm breeding project in the form of equity participation, and the difficulties of site support, marketing support and funding support required by the project were largely solved." Yang Tianshun introduced that the current first-phase earthworm breeding scale is 300 mu, with an in-greenhouse breeding area of 150 mu, producing 600 tons of earthworms and 10,000 tons of vermicompost annually. These will all become valuable medicinal materials.
According to reports, earthworms look unremarkable, but every part of them is a treasure. "As a valuable medicinal material, earthworms are a major highlight of specialty agriculture." Yang Tianshun said that his earthworm breeding project has already established long-term cooperative relationships with some pharmaceutical companies, and it is expected that within 3 years, annual sales will exceed 63 million yuan, with profits of 17 million yuan and a breeding scale of 1,500 mu.
20 maker teams move in
Reporters learned that the Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space officially "opened for business" in October this year. It has so far successfully incubated 12 startup enterprises, including Micro-Natural Environment Engineering, Beicha Old Xu Tea Culture, Yougu Network Commerce and Table Steward, as well as 6 incubated startup projects such as the Warner Ecological Colorful Nursery Stock Project and the Green Box Direct Train Project.
"The Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space 'plants' enterprises in the land, building China's most influential incubator for agricultural small and micro enterprises to list on the 'New Third Board.'" Sui Haizhou, head of the Qingdao Agricultural Maker Space, said that the maker space provides all-round services through 12 major public service platforms, including agricultural e-commerce, intellectual property, investment and financing, industry and commerce and taxation, brand promotion, supply chain and new technology support. The 200-mu agricultural facility greenhouses also provide makers with product planting bases and experimental bases. At present, nearly 20 startup teams have successfully moved into the maker space.