Lu Weifeng finds the golden fruit of prosperity and sets out on the road to higher income
Lu Weifeng, a 37-year-old farmer in Yuli County, has been rather busy lately. His phone has not stopped ringing, and he also has to receive one group after another of farmers who come to visit and sign contracts. They all have only one purpose: to learn from Lu Weifeng's experience.
"Xiao Lu's black goji berry seedlings are especially good. They were planted in April this year, and they are already bearing fruit. We plan to grow goji berries next year too." Recently, at the forestry station of Tuanjie Township, Yuli County, more than 10 farmers who had come to sign pre-sale contracts packed Lu Weifeng's office to the brim.
Shen Shuming of Halahong Village, Xingping Township, Yuli County, has more than 30 mu of land and has grown cotton for over ten years. Now cotton prices are unstable and picking workers are in short supply, so he plans to try growing black goji berries next year.
"Someone in our village grew them this year, and the returns were very good, so I came early to order seedlings." That day, at a price of 0.5 yuan per seedling, Shen Shuming signed a contract for 30,000 seedlings and paid a 500 yuan deposit. His contract number had already reached No. 102.
"In the past month alone, contracts for more than 20 million seedlings have been signed, and people keep coming." A smile hung on Lu Weifeng's tired face. That smile did not come easily.
In early 2013, Lu Weifeng registered and established in Yuli County the first family farm in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture - Yuli County Hongqi Family Farm. In 2014, he also traveled to Qinghai, Ningxia and other places to investigate, and finally decided to develop the black goji berry industry. "Black goji berries are cold-resistant, drought-resistant and salt-alkali-resistant, especially suited to the climate and environment here, and they have very high health value and high economic returns," Lu Weifeng said.
In 2014, the Yuli County Party Committee and County People's Government formulated and issued the "Preferential Policies for the Development of the Goji Berry Industry in Yuli County in 2015," which further strengthened Lu Weifeng's determination to develop the black goji berry industry.
Whether goji berries can be grown well depends on seedling cultivation. Lu Weifeng set his sights on cultivating black goji berry seedlings. "I had never grown them before either, so I specially invited more than 10 forestry and fruit experts and professors from the autonomous region's Academy of Forestry Sciences to help guide us," Lu Weifeng said.
In 2014, Lu Weifeng and these experts repeatedly studied and experimented in the seedling greenhouse for a year, and finally cultivated the ideal black goji berry seedlings.
Led by Lu Weifeng, the reporter visited his "black goji berry demonstration field": "Look, these seedlings were only planted in early April this year, and they are already bearing fruit." The reporter saw that the large, plump black goji berries were growing vigorously, and more than 10 pickers were busy harvesting the goji berries.
The landowner Wei Shengcai was grinning from ear to ear: "More than 5 tons have been harvested so far, and the purchase price is 80 yuan per kg. This 25 mu of land will bring in about 1 million yuan this year. We really have found the 'golden fruit' of prosperity."
At the beginning of this year, Lu Weifeng also established the prefecture's first black goji berry research institute, dedicated to improved breeding of black goji berries, technical guidance, and agricultural product sales and processing. Lu Weifeng said: "Last year, sales of the black goji berry seedlings I cultivated reached 10 million. This year, the seedling capacity of 25 seedling greenhouses will reach 50 million, and 20 million seedlings in orders have already been completed."
"The ecological value and economic benefits of black goji berries are both very high, and we also hope that through our own efforts we can help more farmers become prosperous," Lu Weifeng said.