Li Jianming, the "Grain-Growing King," and His Grain-Growing Story
Li Jianming, deputy manager of the Seed Company of Shaoyang County, Hunan Province, was laid off in 2001 and had once done business elsewhere with considerable profit. In the spring of 2005, he returned to his hometown and contracted more than 500 mu of paddy fields in Banqiao Township, Daxiang District, Shaoyang City, growing double-cropping rice and achieving high yields for three consecutive years.
On August 4, more than 1,000 mu of early rice fields contracted by Li Jianming (left) were busy being harvested.
Li Jianming (left) observing the growth of high-quality rice.
In March 2008, with support from relevant departments including the United Front Work Department of the Shaoyang County Party Committee, the Agriculture Bureau and the Agricultural Machinery Bureau, Li Jianming invested more than 500,000 yuan and contracted more than 1,200 mu of paddy fields in Wushan Village, Guzhou Town to grow rice, again achieving high yields. This spring he received a 10,000-yuan commendation from the county party committee and government. Greatly encouraged, Li Jianming expanded his scale and has now planted 1,500 mu of double-cropping rice, all using efficient agricultural technologies such as soil testing and formulated fertilization and green pest control. Now the early rice has yielded a bumper harvest, with income reaching more than 800,000 yuan, making him a veritable "Grain-Growing King."
Today, Li Jianming has realized that in this extraordinary period of financial crisis, one person being rich does not count as being rich; only when everyone is rich is there true wealth. So he organized more than 20 laid-off large-scale growers from the town and other farmers to establish an agricultural professional cooperative organization, to better motivate laid-off workers and villagers to grow rice and grain crops, and to open a new channel for more returning farmers to increase production and income. His deeds have become a much-told tale locally.