Black fungus helps Yian farmers open the door to prosperity

Black fungus, as a nutrient-rich edible fungus, combines the dual benefits of deliciousness and health, and is a common delicacy on the dining table. And the Tianming Edible Fungus Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Xinli Village, Xinfa Township, Yian County, grows exactly this popular delicacy.

The black fungus cultivation experimental base of the Tianming Edible Fungus Farmers' Professional Cooperative is located in Xinli Village, surrounded by green trees and babbling streams. The cooperative's cultivation greenhouse is a world of its own, with strings of little lanterns threaded on lines, packed densely with tens of thousands hanging in the greenhouse. The little lanterns are covered with small holes, and some of the holes have already grown black objects. This is where black fungus is born. According to Lu Zhihan, chairman of the cooperative, one fungus bag can produce one liang of black fungus. This year the wholesale price of the fungus produced by the cooperative is 45 yuan per jin, so one fungus bag, after deducting costs, generates a net profit of 2 yuan. With 25,000 fungus bags in one greenhouse, the net income is 50,000 yuan. At present, the number of greenhouses of the cooperative has expanded to 70, and there are also 150 mu of bag-cultivated fungus. The net income for this year is more than 5 million yuan.

His past experience of selling black fungus gave Lu Zhihan the idea of growing black fungus himself. The fungus he trial-planted and harvested was exceptionally good in both quality and yield. In January 2014, together with 9 villagers from the village, he founded the Tianming Edible Fungus Farmers' Professional Cooperative, built greenhouses, selected fungus strains, purchased fungus bags, and invested 7 million yuan in total, building 42 greenhouses in two phases. Over two crops, more than 80,000 jin of fungus was produced. Because the cooperative's fungus is pesticide-free and purely green, the wholesale price reached more than 40 yuan per jin. Seeing that growing black fungus made money, villagers who wanted to join the cooperative came to Lu Zhihan one group after another.

Villager Chen Wenxiang had always made a living by farming. Last year, he used the slack farming season to work at the Tianming Cooperative. Seeing that others had made money by growing fungus, he became interested too. He not only contracted his own land to the cooperative, but also invested funds as a shareholder in the cooperative. When the accounts were settled at the end of the year, the returns were quite considerable.

Now the cooperative produces three of the most popular types of black fungus, and every harvest season demand exceeds supply. In Xinfa Township, more and more villagers are joining the ranks of growing fungus. The cooperative has increased from 9 households in the past to 62 households this year, opening up a brand-new path to prosperity for the local people.