A bumper harvest of Banlangen (Isatis root): Shenmu entrepreneurial young man Duan Junqi reaps 620 mu

Duan Junqi and the workers are busy harvesting Banlangen

Holding a full basket of Banlangen, Duan Junqi's face beams with a happy smile

The workers are busy loading the Banlangen onto trucks

It is another harvest season. Right now, the 620 mu of Banlangen at the Banlangen base in Gaohaipan Village, Dabaodang Town, Shenmu County has entered the mature harvest period. Taking advantage of the favorable clear weather, Duan Junqi is busy harvesting Banlangen together with the workers, and the joy of a bumper harvest blooms on his face.

Duan Junqi, only 27 years old, is the founder of the Banlangen base. As early as 2009, after being demobilized from the military, he set his mind on starting his own business to open up a path to prosperity. After several rounds of investigation, he invested a total of 650,000 yuan and planted 620 mu of Banlangen in Gaohaipan Village, Dabaodang Town. At the planting base, this writer saw Duan Junqi and the workers busy in full swing: some used forks to rake the piles, some picked up the roots with baskets, and some packed and loaded them onto trucks... Listen! The rumbling of harvesters and tractors, and the hearty laughter the workers let out from time to time, made everything before one's eyes seem especially peaceful.

Duan Junqi told this writer that as early as mid-October, he had led more than 20 workers to begin harvesting Banlangen. Although they rise early and stay up late every day and work very hard, he takes great joy in it. While working, he also told this writer about his original choice of Banlangen asan entrepreneurial projectand his original intention. At first, he had not expected the Banlangen market to be so tight; it was only by chance that he saw on television a entrepreneurial story about planting Chinese medicinal herbs, which deeply inspired him. Coupled with the government's encouragement of young people to start businesses, he then set his sights on Banlangen, a widely used medicinal herb. Of course, his idea also received support from his family. His father, Duan Rongxiu, said that planting Banlangen has a short cycle, quick results, and good returns; when there is no farm work to do, he and his wife often go to help.

Duan Junqi's entrepreneurial path can be described as smooth sailing. In the early days of his business, after the more than 80 mu of trial-planted Banlangen matured, medicinal material companies and vendors came in person to the base to purchase it. He not only earned more than 300,000 yuan, but also gained confidence and determination to expand the planting area. Later, building on the previous year's experience, Duan Junqi continuously explored and learned new planting techniques, and this year the planting area reached 620 mu. According to his estimate, 620 mu of Banlangen can produce more than 100 tons of finished product. If calculated at a market price of more than 10 yuan per kilogram, this year's overall output value and benefits are very considerable, much higher than the income local farmers get from growing crops.

Speaking of the sales channels for Banlangen, Duan Junqi frankly said he is very confident. From the day he began planting Banlangen, he took the initiative to contact some medicinal material companies, and has now signed a purchase contract with a medicinal material company in Anhui. After the harvest is completed and the roots are dried for a period of time, they will come to the base to purchase. In addition, many merchants have recently come in person intending to buy, so Duan Junqi is naturally delighted.

Looking at the piles of harvested Banlangen before him, Duan Junqi's face is filled with a happy smile, but he is also somewhat puzzled, because the lack of mature management techniques and experience has to some extent affected the overall yield of Banlangen at the base. He plans to go out frequently in the future to investigate and learn, so as to improve his Banlangen planting techniques. At the same time, he also intends to use his own entrepreneurial story to drive surrounding farmers to join the ranks of planting Chinese medicinal herbs, so that more farmers can embark on a new path of invigorating agriculture and becoming prosperous.