Small shiitake mushrooms pave the way to prosperity for farmers in Liangdang, Gansu

In the early winter season, walking into Mazhahe Village, Zuojia Township, Liangdang County, everywhere you look the fields are full of rows of greenhouses, and inside them villagers are busy picking shiitake mushrooms...

"This is exactly the time to pick shiitake mushrooms." In one of the greenhouses, the reporter met villager Luo Yanlong, who was sorting shiitake mushrooms. The wooden board in front of him was piled high with fresh shiitake mushrooms.

"First you have to grade the shiitake mushrooms, then sell them. Different grades fetch different prices." While busy sorting, Luo Yanlong explained to the reporter, "This is grade-one white-surface mushroom, with a purchase price of 5 yuan per jin; this is grade two at 4.5 yuan; and this medium mushroom at 2.5 yuan."

It is understood that this year Luo Yanlong's family planted 35,000 bags of bag-cultivated shiitake mushrooms, distributed across more than ten greenhouses, and all the greenhouses have just recently had their bags opened.

"From this flush we picked more than 1,500 kg, earning nearly 20,000 yuan, and I estimate we can pick another 500 kg," Luo Yanlong said. The shiitake mushrooms in the greenhouses can be picked at least four times, and he expects to earn more than 100,000 yuan this year.

Luo Yanlong is 30 years old this year, and this is his second year growing shiitake mushrooms. He said: "In the past I worked away from home, and after a whole year I barely made enough to eat. Now, with the government's support and the company's guidance, I can make big money right at my doorstep. It's really exciting!"

Indeed, since 2012, when Liangdang County used preferential policies to bring in Huangbo Edible Fungi Technology Co., Ltd. and establish it in Zuojia Township, the local edible fungi industry, mainly shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms and ground-cultivated wood ear mushrooms, has developed rapidly under the company's demonstration and guidance. Not only was an edible fungi industry demonstration park built, but the industry's area and benefits also achieved rapid growth.

"Our current development model is the 'company + base + specialized cooperative + farming households' model." Luo Yanlong told the reporter that Huangbo Company not only provides technical guidance and some production materials throughout the process, but also signs a minimum protected purchase price with growers, while purchasing products at market prices as they fluctuate, effectively solving the masses' worries about selling their products.

"Most importantly, the county government has tilted pro-farmer policies such as poverty-alleviation discounted loans, small-sum guaranteed loans for women, and the Double Linkage beneficial-farming loans toward the development of the edible fungi industry, strongly supporting farmers in poor villages to develop shiitake mushroom cultivation. At present, every household in Mazhahe Village grows shiitake mushrooms."

Providing greenhouses for shiitake mushroom cultivation, door-to-door training and guidance, and a subsidy of 1 yuan per bag of shiitake mushrooms... The government's various assistance measures have not only solved problems such as insufficient upfront investment funds for the development of the edible fungi industry, but also fully mobilized the enthusiasm of the vast number of farming households.

At the same time, with the development of the edible fungi industry, villagers in Mazhahe Village have also been able to earn income by working nearby.

"I usually do some farm work at home, and when the farming season is slack I come here to do odd jobs." Hou Caixia, who was turning mushroom sticks at Huangbo Mushroom Industry, told the reporter that Huangbo Mushroom Industry is very close to her home. Working here allows her to earn money to supplement the household income without delaying looking after her children, killing two birds with one stone.

Looking at the busy scene in the village, the village party secretary sighed with emotion: "In the past, the villagers lived in the mountains, with inconvenient transportation and harsh living conditions. After relocation, not only have all 84 households built new houses, but through developing the shiitake mushroom industry, every household's 'money bag' has swelled. Such a good life is something we never even dreamed of!"