From loss-making to annual income of 18 million

Zhao Yuzhong is a famous figure in the field of vegetables on the outskirts of Beijing. People who know him well know that Lao Zhao is a "stubborn" person. Especially in organic this fascinating, but several attempts, experienced setbacks and adhere to the road, he has been unremitting struggle for 10 years. Lao Zhao said with a smile that this organic road is the "long March" in the green vegetable garden. Although it is difficult and dangerous, as long as you face it bravely and persevere, you will always be able to see the moon. Indeed, last year, the income from selling vegetables in this small vegetable garden reached more than 18 million yuan, making more than 300 farmers busier and happier together.

"now there are a lot of phone calls, and most of them order vegetables and visit them. Unlike before, I hold the phone all day and ask for people to sell." With this remark, Chao Po-Tao's mind went back to the early days. In the 1980s, Chinese cabbage in Xiaofengying Village in Yanqing was famous. Almost every household in the village grows vegetables. During the harvest season, when men drive carts through the streets, the food is snapped up. However, such a good year did not last forever. In 2007, 298 vegetable farmers in Xiaofengying Village jointly set up a professional vegetable growing cooperative in the green vegetable garden. Zhao, who used to run an eyeglass factory, was elected chairman of the cooperative because he knew how to manage.

After Zhao Yuzhong took office, he found that the members lacked understanding of the market, and the planting variety was too single. "if you want to grow, grow high-end food!" Zhao Yuzhong, who has been crawling in the storm of the market for more than ten years, went to market research and looked up information on the Internet, determined the future development direction of the cooperative, and built more than 200 greenhouses to grow organic vegetables. "although the planting standards of organic vegetables are extremely strict and the output is not as high as ordinary vegetables, the selling price is more than 10 times higher than that of ordinary vegetables." Zhao Yuzhong believes that with the improvement of living standards, people pay more and more attention to a healthy diet, and organic food must have a bright future.

However, the organic vegetables with a bumper harvest did not change back the thick banknotes for everyone. There are 99 kinds of organic certified vegetables in the green vegetable garden, with an annual output of 1 million kg. But at the beginning of the organic certification in 2009, 90% of the organic vegetables in the base were sold cheaply as road vegetables. In the worst of times, the base produced more than 3000 kilograms of organic tomatoes a day, dumping 700 to 800 kilograms almost every day, and the co-op did not even have the money to buy fertilizer.

Lao Zhao just doesn't believe in evil. In order to open up the market and let more consumers know about organic food, they often hold activities in the community to display and sell organic vegetables and introduce the growing process of organic vegetables to consumers. It has also opened a variety of channels such as online shopping malls, community vegetable cabinets and community vegetable stations. Try to get rid of the hawker and sell yourself. Over the years, the market for organic food has gradually opened up. In 2012, Green vegetable Garden became the first batch of national demonstration societies. The annual sales income is also rising, from losing money to more than 18 million yuan.

Lao Zhao's "long March" did not come to a standstill. At present, he is thinking about the insect technology of natural enemies, and intends to let these "natural soldiers and generals" take care of the vegetable garden, so that the park can save all biological pesticides. Another major thing is to improve the level of mechanization of facilities. "Farmers are too hard to grow vegetables," he said. "We have to reduce the intensity of labor and make farmers a decent job."