Maker Song Xiaolan refuses to accept defeat, determined to forge a path to prosperity from the soil
Recently, in the Dongyunba Modern Agriculture Demonstration Zone in Fenshuiling Town, Jiangyang District, young woman Song Xiaolan was raising seedlings in a vegetable greenhouse. She skillfully transplanted pepper seedlings one by one, while more than ten farmers beside her helped with weeding and fertilizing...
Song Xiaolan raising seedlings in the vegetable greenhouse
Food safety is a perennial topic, and how to eat green, ecological, safe vegetables has become a concern for citizens. In early 2014, female university student Song Xiaolan seized the business opportunity of green vegetable cultivation and resolutely decided to go into the fields, investing nearly 2 million yuan, transferring and contracting 1,000 mu of land to develop modern agriculture.
Partner withdraws shares, transitions into a new-type farmer
Everything is difficult at the start. Song Xiaolan, who had no prior experience with agriculture at all, encountered one difficulty after another when she first started her business.
The soil of the land Song Xiaolan contracted in Dongyunba Village was barren and needed to be softened to meet planting standards. Because transportation in Dongyunba Village was inconvenient, professional soil-softening machinery could not get in. Song Xiaolan led the villagers in the cooperative to pour water into the soil and used the back of hoes to pound the hard ground. They worked continuously for two months, but the results were minimal.
The surrounding villagers mocked her, and her family tried every means to persuade her, but none of it could make her yield. "If you want to get things done, you need a spirit that refuses to give up. I don't believe you can't forge a path to prosperity from the soil!" Song Xiaolan gazed at the hard soil, hope in her heart outweighing disappointment.
At the beginning of her business, in order to expand the ecological vegetable planting project, Song Xiaolan mobilized 3 agricultural individual households to join and created the Dongyunba Vegetable and Fruit Professional Cooperative. Agricultural experts and surrounding "landless" farmers also joined the cooperative, raising more than 1 million yuan in total funds.
Two months passed. Seeing that the fields were still barren and the farmers were still pounding the hard soil, the partners began to beat a retreat. The 3 partners unanimously decided to withdraw from the project cooperation and decided to lend their earlier investment funds to Song Xiaolan in the form of debt. The 1,000 mu of land could not be left to fail in her hands, so Song Xiaolan took on the task of planting more than 1,000 mu of ecological vegetables.
"If you don't go and plant vegetables, we won't owe debts to relatives and friends either." Song Xiaolan's entrepreneurial dream met with opposition from her husband. Ignoring all obstacles, Song Xiaolan rolled up her sleeves and pant legs. Having never done farm work before, she also learned to raise seedlings, weed, and apply fertilizer... She often stayed up late to learn experience from agricultural experts, step by step transforming into a new-type farmer who is educated, technically skilled, capable of management, and highly competent.
Gradually, Song Xiaolan delivered the vegetables she grew directly to major farmers' markets and large supermarkets in the city. The green vegetables won widespread consumer favor and were often in short supply. More and more customers came to her to discuss and pre-order vegetables.
One job, two sources of income; villagers are all willing to work with her
"Develop ecological vegetable planting, bring our green agricultural products to the national market, and lead our fellow villagers onto the path to prosperity..." While striving to realize her own value, Song Xiaolan also did her utmost to lead the villagers of Dongyunba to prosperity.
Gan Qinghuai, a villager from Dongyunba Village, joined the Dongyunba Vegetable and Fruit Professional Cooperative with land as share capital, while also working daily in the vegetable greenhouse. "Now I have two sources of income, land rent and wages, and life is better than before." Song Xiaolan paid villagers 60 yuan per day in wages to help tend the vegetables, allowing villagers to find employment at their doorstep.
Ecological vegetables sold well and were widely favored by customers. Nearby villagers came to ask about new techniques, and Song Xiaolan and the cooperative's agricultural experts voluntarily taught villagers techniques and conducted training deep in the fields, helping villagers master modern agricultural technology. Under her radiating drive, the professional cooperative absorbed more than 200 member households. "The village has undergone great changes. Ten thousand mu of land has been leveled, steel-frame greenhouses have been set up, and transportation conditions have also improved." The villagers are all willing to work with maker Song Xiaolan.
"In the next 5 years, the cooperative will expand the scale of planting and production, form an industrial chain, bring our green agricultural products to the national market, and make Jiangyang vegetables famous nationwide." Speaking of the long-term plan, Song Xiaolan was full of confidence.