Clothing Business Owner Switches to Farming and Becomes a Leader in Getting Rich

The barren mountains at an altitude of 1100 m in Daqiao Town, Gutian County, eastern Fujian, have taken on new vitality in recent years: cattle and sheep roam in herds, and peach and plum trees spread their branches and leaves. The person who changed this situation is Chen Rikang.

Chen Rikang went from being a clothing store owner in Shishi, southern Fujian, to "turning around" and becoming a farm owner, and became a leader for the people of his hometown in getting rich.

For many years, because most of the local young and middle-aged people went elsewhere to work, large areas of farmland in the village were left idle and abandoned, so that the villagers lived beside a "golden mountain" yet complained of poverty. Chen Rikang noticed this situation, which had continued for years.

Chen Rikang left Daqiao Town at the age of 16 and went to Shishi to do business in clothing. After 20 years of hard work, his family assets became more and more substantial. But every time he returned home, the current poverty of his hometown made it hard for him to let go. In 2011, Chen Rikang handed the clothing business over to his family to manage, resolutely returned to Daqiao Town, contracted more than 4000 mu of barren mountains, established Xinrong Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., and began a second venture.

Different trades are like different mountains. At the beginning, Chen Rikang, who had not personally farmed for many years, knew nothing about planting and breeding techniques or even agricultural policy, and starting the business was very difficult. The training class for leaders in getting rich organized by the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League helped him a great deal. In Heilongjiang he learned advanced agricultural techniques, in Beijing he received forward-looking innovation and entrepreneurship education, and in Zhangzhou, Fujian, he studied agricultural product marketing and e-commerce...

Gradually, Chen Rikang became an expert in developing ecological agriculture. On the one hand, he studied fruit tree cultivation and planting techniques, and through investigation found fruit tree varieties suitable for growing at high altitude; using the connections he had accumulated while doing business, he reached agreements with fruit wholesalers in Ningde, Fuzhou and other places, opening up sales channels for the products.

A reporter recently interviewed at Chen Rikang's farm and saw 20000 peach trees and plum trees growing vigorously, which can bring in 10 million yuan in income each year. Nearby Qinshi Village, optimistic about the development prospects of the ecological farm, provided 1000 mu of land to cooperate with Chen Rikang.

"Returning home to start a business is precisely to drive more of my hometown's elders to get rich. Of course I am willing to share my development opportunities," Chen Rikang said. He has now reached cooperation intentions with 8 cooperatives.

The reporter learned that Chen Rikang's company has driven villagers to get rich in three ways: the transfer of land has given value to formerly idle wasteland; dozens of villagers work long-term on the farm and have stable and considerable income; and as the farm's scale expands and its benefits become apparent, it has attracted young and middle-aged people who had gone out to work to return home and start businesses.

"By cultivating good leaders in getting rich, we grasp the 'nose ring of the ox' for poverty alleviation in rural areas of backward regions." Chen Yi, director of the Agriculture and Industry Department of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League, who is stationed at Daqiao Town, said that since 2014 Fujian Province has implemented a "leading goose" training plan for rural youth entrepreneurship and getting rich, planning to train 30000 leaders in getting rich within 5 years, striving for every village to have a leader. "Chen Rikang is both a beneficiary of this plan and a typical successful example."

Chen Rikang said that his goal is to build an agricultural product brand in his hometown, form a high-altitude fruit industry at scale, launch a series of new business forms such as sightseeing agriculture and high-mountain summer retreats, and lead the elders of his hometown toward prosperity.