Get rich "leading goose": from clothing boss to "turn" farmer

The barren mountain in Daqiao Town, Gutian County, eastern Fujian, which is 1100 meters above sea level, has shown new vitality in recent years: cattle and sheep in groups, peaches and plums blooming and scattered leaves. It was Chen Rikang who changed the situation.

Chen Rikang "turned" from the owner of the clothing store in Shishi in southern Fujian to become a farmer and the leader of the people in his hometown to get rich.

Over the years, as most of the local young and middle-aged went to work in other places, a large number of farmland in the village was shelved and abandoned, so that the villagers clung to "Jinshan" and shouted that they were poor. Chen Rikang has noticed that this situation has been going on for years.

Chen Rikang left Daqiao Town at the age of 16 to do a clothing business in Shishi. Over the past 20 years of hard work, the family has become more and more solid. But every time he went home, he couldn't let go of the poverty in his hometown. In 2011, Chen Rikang handed over the clothing business to his family, resolutely returned to Daqiao Town to contract more than 4000 mu of barren mountains, established Xinrong Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., and started a second venture.

Every other line is like a mountain. At the beginning, Chen Rikang, who had not worked for many years, knew nothing about farming technology or even agricultural policy, and it was very difficult to start a business. The training course for leaders of the Communist Youth League in Fujian Province helped him a lot. He learned about advanced agricultural technology in Heilongjiang, received avant-garde innovative and entrepreneurial education in Beijing, and studied agricultural marketing and e-commerce in Zhangzhou, Fujian.

Gradually, Chen Rikang became an expert in the development of ecological agriculture. On the one hand, he studied the cultivation and planting techniques of fruit trees, and through research and research, he found fruit tree varieties suitable for high altitude growth; using the contacts accumulated during business, he reached agreements with fruit wholesalers in Ningde, Fuzhou and other places, opening up the sales channels of the products.

When this reporter recently interviewed Chen Rikang on his farm, he saw only 20, 000 peach trees and Li Shuzhuo growing, bringing an annual income of 10 million yuan. Nearby Qinshi Village was optimistic about the development prospect of ecological farm and put forward 1000 mu of land to cooperate with Chen Rikang.

"the purpose of returning to my hometown to start a business is to drive more elders in my hometown to get rich. I am certainly willing to share my own development opportunities." Chen Rikang said. He has now reached an intention to cooperate with eight cooperatives.

The reporter learned that Chen Rikang's company has led the villagers to become rich in three aspects; the circulation of land has brought value to the previously idle wasteland; dozens of villagers have worked on the farm for a long time and have a stable and considerable income; with the expansion of the scale of the farm and the emergence of benefits, it has attracted young and middle-aged migrant workers to return home to start their own businesses.

"by training leaders to become rich, we will seize the 'bull's nose' of getting rid of poverty in rural areas in backward areas." Chen Yi, head of the Agriculture and Industry Department of the Communist Youth League of Fujian Province, who is hanging in Daqiao Town, said that since 2014, Fujian Province has implemented a "leading goose" training program for rural youth to start a business and become rich. It plans to train 30,000 leaders within five years to strive for leaders in every village. "Chen Rikang is not only a beneficiary of the plan, but also a typical successful example."

Chen Rikang said that his goal is to build a brand of agricultural products in his hometown, form the scale of the high-altitude fruit industry, launch a series of new business type, such as sightseeing agriculture and high mountain summer, and lead the elders of his hometown to prosperity.