Pan County, Liupanshui, Guizhou: Panax notoginseng yields golden profits

Under the warm winter sun, He Wuxiang, a villager of Yujie Village, Mayi Town, Pan County, was weeding in his field. Having just sold more than 180 jin of Panax notoginseng flowers for over 30,000 yuan, He Wuxiang's face was still beaming with joy.

In He Wuxiang's Panax notoginseng base, rows of neat Panax notoginseng looked especially promising. "Why divide the Panax notoginseng field into plots and dig trenches between them?" He Wuxiang smiled and began to explain his "Panax notoginseng lore": "Panax notoginseng needs half-shade, half-sun light conditions, so there must be shade-providing sheds; Panax notoginseng does not need too much water..." Pointing to the trenches one by one, He Wuxiang explained that the purpose of these drainage ditches is to drain away excess water. He Wuxiang said that it is precisely because of the special requirements of Panax notoginseng's growing environment that many places have geographical conditions unsuitable for growing Panax notoginseng, which is why he built his base halfway up the mountain.

10 years ago, He Wuxiang, whose family was struggling financially, dropped out of school and went to Wenshan, Yunnan to work, and his job was planting Panax notoginseng. Later, realizing there was a business opportunity in growing Panax notoginseng, He Wuxiang used the 50,000 yuan he had earned from work to rent land in Wenshan to grow Panax notoginseng, and earned 100,000 yuan.

With surplus money, He Wuxiang often thought of the scene back home where villagers supported their families by growing corn and potatoes. In 2008, He Wuxiang returned to his hometown. At that time, it coincided with the county Party committee and county government proposing a development strategy of having capable people lead villagers to prosperity, so he actively responded to the call to vigorously develop agriculture and, using his 100,000 yuan in savings from years of hard work plus a credit union loan, established a Panax notoginseng planting demonstration base.

Not long after the base was established, in 2008, a rare freezing disaster froze and rotted all his Panax notoginseng. However, the disaster did not crush He Wuxiang's confidence and passion for entrepreneurship. By seeking help from the government and with the help of relatives and friends, He Wuxiang raised funds to rebuild the planting base. After experiencing the freezing disaster, He Wuxiang deeply realized that only by learning could he obtain scientific planting methods, change traditional planting habits, and gradually expand the planting scale; only by combining "going out" with "bringing in" could he identify gaps, learn advanced methods, change his thinking, and take a path that correctly meets market demand. To this end, on the one hand he bought professional books and used his spare time to cram on planting knowledge; on the other hand he lived frugally and made successive trips to Wenshan, Yunnan for on-site study and learning. Through scientific planting, the following year He Wuxiang "recovered" the more than 100,000 yuan lost the previous year.

Today, He Wuxiang is already one of the somewhat well-known capable people in Mayi Town. While enriching himself, he has not forgotten the support and encouragement of his fellow villagers, and he does practical things to give back to this land that raised him. Whenever growers from his village or other villages come to him for help, he always provides technical consultation and planting books free of charge, explains technical issues to the masses, and provides services at villagers' homes. When some growers encounter financial difficulties, He Wuxiang gives them support and help, selling them Panax notoginseng seedlings on credit at low prices. With He Wuxiang's help, Panax notoginseng planting in Mayi Town has reached 97.3 mu, and the number of growers has grown to more than 11 households.

Today, He Wuxiang's Panax notoginseng base demonstration planting area has reached 30 mu. Calculated at a yield of 2,000 jin per mu and a price of 40 yuan per jin, his expected income this year will reach more than 1 million yuan.