The strong woman in Tonghai, Yunnan leads the flower farmers to increase their income and become rich.

In recent years, Yuxi City in Yunnan Province has played a leading role in women's entrepreneurship demonstration bases, actively supported professional large households, leading enterprises and cooperative management organizations with women as the main body, and led and led rural women to increase their income and become rich. Liu Lizhen, director-general of Tonghai County Yangliren Platycodon grandiflorum Professional Cooperative, succeeded through her unremitting efforts with the help of municipal and county women's federations. Under her leadership, more than 100 local women achieved employment at their doorstep. The cooperative was also recognized as a national demonstration base for women's poverty alleviation by the All-China Women's Federation. Liu Lizhen confirmed her WeChat name "Flower World·Beautiful Life" with her actions

In the packaging workshop of the cooperative, the flower barrel is filled with colorful flowers of Platycodon grandiflorum. Liu Lizhen holds a handful of green leaves and beautiful flowers of Platycodon grandiflorum and told reporters: "This is a new variety of Platycodon grandiflorum that we will try to select and push this year. It is not only of high quality, but also of good quality. The flower type is also very good. We currently have more than 20 major varieties of eustoma like this, all from Holland, Japan and the United States."

Liu Lizhen is observing the cut flowers of Platycodon grandiflorum

The reporter learned in the interview that Liu Lizhen, 51, grew up in the countryside with a junior high school education and had worked sewing and selling fruits. In 2004, when she switched to planting flowers, Tonghai County Yangliren Platycodon grandiflorum Professional Cooperative, which was established by inviting sisters from the village, was the first professional cooperative of Platycodon grandiflorum in Yuxi. This year is her thirteenth year of planting flowers. She said: "Many people said that it was too hard to plant flowers with their faces facing the loess every day. But when they make money, the sisters are very happy and happy."

According to Liu Lizhen, when the cooperative was established, it made clear the goal of adhering to scientific and technological guidance and industrial support, carrying out practical technical training for rural women, improving rural women's technical skills in scientific planting of Platycodon grandiflorum, popularizing and applying new technologies, new varieties and new facilities for planting Platycodon grandiflorum, guiding women to take the road of industrialization, specialization and organization, and leading women to become rich by science and technology. Yunnan Yangliren Flower Co., Ltd., which was later established on the basis of the cooperative, played the resounding trademark and brand of Yangliren, and exported more than 60% of the fresh cut flowers of Platycodon grandiflorum to Australia, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong and other countries and regions. "At present, we sell three tickets to Australia every week, each ticket is more than 10000," Liu said.

Shen Shuyuan, a villager, is a typical rural housewife with low educational background and no way to start a business. Driven by Liu Lizhen, Shen Shuyuan joined the cooperative to plant Platycodon grandiflorum in the same year through the mode of company + professional cooperative + base + farmer household. She not only recovered the planting cost, but also earned more than 20,000 yuan per mu of land. She said: "Liu Lizhen works seriously and her brain turns quickly. When we go to flower, tell us the advanced cultivation and management techniques we have learned, and let us follow them."

In Tonghai, the number of members who joined the cooperative to plant Platycodon grandiflorum like Shen Shuyuan has increased from 66 households at the time of its establishment to 187 households, of which women account for more than 70%. The planting of Platycodon grandiflorum has also grown from 128 mu at the time of its establishment to about 2100 mu.

Liu Lizhen's success and the development of cooperatives benefited from the strong support and help of city and county women's federations. Liu Lizhen told reporters: The Women's Federation took our flower farmers out for investigation and learning, brought advanced experience home, and the cooperative organized more than 500 rural women to carry out standardized planting training every year, so that the planting technology level of flower farmers was obviously improved, and the yield and quality of cut flowers of Platycodon grandiflorum were greatly improved, thus expanding the sales market and increasing the income of flower farmers. "The Women's Federation grants quotas to 5 to 10 cooperatives every year, at 50,000 to 100,000 yuan per household, to support the production and development of members. The aided members use small loans to build greenhouses and purchase seedlings of new and excellent varieties, laying a good foundation for improving benefits and increasing income. At present, the income of flower farmers has increased from the initial net profit of 6000 yuan per mu to more than 20,000 yuan now. With the help of small loans, many flower farmers, like Shen Shuyuan, have embarked on the road to prosperity by relying on flower cultivation." Liu Lizhen said.

It is understood that in addition to Tonghai County, Liu Lizhen also radiates and drives 1760 flower farmers in Yuxi City, Chuxiong, Honghe, Pu 'er, Kunming and other places to plant more than 3900 mu of high-quality Platycodon grandiflorum, forming the ability to process 40 million fresh cut flowers of Platycodon grandiflorum annually. Because of her outstanding achievements, Liu Lizhen has successively won the honorary titles of "March 8th Red Flag Carrier of Yunnan Province" and "National Female Expert in Popularizing Science to Get Rich in Rural Areas". The cooperative was awarded the honorary title of "National Demonstration Society of Farmers 'Professional Cooperatives" by the Ministry of Agriculture. At the end of last year, the cooperative modern flower experimental demonstration base was recognized as "National Women's Poverty Alleviation Demonstration Base" by the All-China Women's Federation. Liu Lizhen said: "Although our eustoma has a certain share in the market, it is not enough." In the next step, we will build a constant-temperature greenhouse to plant eugenol and sell it through e-commerce to make flowers sell farther and better."