Small kiwifruit built Hao Zengping's sweet business
On November 1, a reporter saw in Langouya Village, Fangxia Town, Laicheng District, a lush orchard stretching out before them.
This orchard is the pollution-free agricultural product production site of the Hezhong Kiwifruit Planting Professional Cooperative in Laicheng District, as certified by the origin certification approved by the Shandong Provincial Department of Agriculture. "Our cooperative grows Hongyang kiwifruit, also known as red-fleshed kiwifruit, which tastes good and has a high sugar content. Now many tourists come to buy and pick it after hearing about it," cooperative president Hao Zengping told the reporter.
Hao Zengping, 53 this year, is a native of Langouya Village, Fangxia Town, Laicheng District. It was exactly 20 years ago that, quite by accident, Hao Zengping formed a bond with kiwifruit.
In 1995, Hao Zengping went to Cangxi County, Sichuan, to sell Sichuan pepper. Locally, someone brought 4 green fruits for Hao Zengping to taste. "These fruits are really delicious." As soon as Hao Zengping took a bite, a sweet fragrance seeped into his heart. After asking around, Hao Zengping learned that these were kiwifruit. Hao Zengping felt there might be a business opportunity in this, so he spent 2000 yuan to buy 300 kiwifruit trees from the local area and brought them back to Laiwu. Unexpectedly, they bloomed and bore fruit the next year, yielding more than 2000 jin of kiwifruit. Happily, Hao Zengping took the kiwifruit to the market to sell, but after a whole day he had sold only 1 yuan worth. This gave Hao Zengping a deep sense of frustration. Because they were never accepted by local people, apart from taking the kiwifruit to market to sell, he gave the rest to relatives and friends to taste.
After the setback, old Hao did not give up his dream, but kept experimenting and improving, until 2010, when he finally succeeded. The improved kiwifruit is smaller in size, but tastes better, and is even sweeter than those grown in the south. In order to let consumers eat with confidence, Hao Zengping carefully protects the excellent quality of the kiwifruit. "The most reassuring thing about kiwifruit is that it does not attract insects and does not need pesticide, because it has fleshy roots. The trees are fertilized once a year, and only organic fertilizer and barnyard manure are used," Hao Zengping said. To have enough fertilizer, old Hao raised more than 80 sheep, using sheep manure on the land to improve the quality of the fruit. Kiwifruit likes cleanliness and, like people, likes beauty. Old Hao knows its habits, so he dug 4 deep water wells in the orchard and irrigated the kiwifruit with sweet, clear water.
Just this year, Hao Zengping took 7 boxes of kiwifruit to Jinan to attend an agricultural products exhibition, and unexpectedly made a name for himself at once. At the exhibition, the kiwifruit Hao Zengping brought was quickly snapped up, attracting the attention of merchants from Jinan, Beijing and other places. "In Beijing, my kiwifruit can sell for 60 yuan per jin, and it is very much in demand," Hao Zengping said. After tasting them, many merchants praised them one after another, saying that the kiwifruit grown by Hao Zengping tasted even better than those from the south.
Having tasted success, Hao Zengping bought more than 6000 kiwifruit trees from Sichuan in 2013. They set fruit the next year, and after entering full fruit-bearing stage, each tree could produce more than 70 jin on average. That same year, Wang Fengdong of Langouya Village, and Zhang Yidong and Zhao Decai of Daijiazhuang Village, Yangli Town, came together to old Hao's home, wanting to learn kiwifruit planting techniques from him. Old Hao agreed without hesitation and took charge of all the techniques, from planting to management. In April 2014, they established the Hezhong Kiwifruit Planting Professional Cooperative, with Hao Zengping as president, and affiliated with the Nanboshan Yuanquan kiwifruit market for unified packaging and sales. After seeing the cooperative's rapid development, more and more farmers have now joined the cooperative. The cooperative's members have grown from the initial 6 households to more than 50 households, and the planting area has reached more than 100 mu. "Starting next year, many fruit trees will reach full fruit-bearing stage. It is estimated that next year's output can reach 100,000 tons, and the cooperative's net income will reach more than 1 million yuan," Hao Zengping said happily.
According to Hao Zengping, the yield of kiwifruit is about three to four thousand jin per mu. At a picking price of 20 yuan/jin, one mu can earn 60,000 yuan, which is beyond what growing crops can achieve. "At present, the planting area of growers in our cooperative is limited, and the output is not very large. It is mainly based on self-picking. Next, we will increase the planting area, raise output, and supply major supermarkets in Jinan and other places," Hao Zengping said with full confidence in the face of the good market.