Organic farming takes root among farmers
- By Wu Jin
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, July 17, 2012
Not everyone, though, is blind to the dangers. Some have sensed the creeping dangers in agriculture and have began to encourage producers to end the vicious cycle of chemical and pesticide use.
Sitting in the central bungalow situated in the courtyard that Shi selected for her new headquarters in Mafang, Wang said he greatly appreciates Shi's philosophical stance, stating that her convictions had inspired him to endure the long journey and sweltering heat to visit her at her headquarters.
"The Little Donkey Farm is definitely a good start, but it is predominantly managed by academics," he said. "Now, though, Shi's resolving to involve farmers [in the process].That's the kind of collaboration I definitely feel upbeat about."
Farmers are natural reproducers. For thousands of years, Chinese farmers have passed on organic farming skills from generation to generation, including turning cattle dung into fertilizer, reusing dehydrated straw and the use of geese in guarding the family poultry due to their innate ferocity.
However, these natural and gradual rural rhythms have been shattered in the frenetic rush toward urbanization, where mammoth building complexes engulf the pastures and paddy fields, dividing people due to yawning differences in wealth, lifestyles, statuses, and philosophies.
Shi's belief is that modern enterprises have a duty beyond the traditional business model. "We call our organization a social enterprise rather than a traditional company," Shi said.
"We adopt commercial strategies principally in order to solve social problems." An envious Tsinghua PhD called Shi a moron when she decided to start her career by farming in suburban Haidian District. "A moron again, I have moved out of the village in Haidian to the countryside in Tongzhou for a new start, because, now, it's 2012!" Shi wrote on her Sina blog.
But she's not alone. A number of "morons" quit their moderately well-paid jobs and traveled thousands of miles to join her in order to pursue a shared dream. Her market strategist Tang Liang is a biology graduate from Chengdu-based Southwest University. He resigned from a local equipment company more than two years ago, against his strong opposition from his family, to come to the Little Donkey Farm when he heard of Shi's story. He started as an intern making ten times less than the salary from his previous job, where he earned 6,000 yuan a month.
It is clear, though, that money is not his sole motivation. "I can feel in my bones that I am really working toward something here," Tang said. "I am not just a cog on an assembly line, alienated as a working machine solely operating for money, with my life devoid of all meaning."
There are many kindred spirits, too. One is Zheng Qiang, a young intern from Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, who has vowed to do something similar with his friends in Fujian with the experience he has gained in Mafang. Another is Cao Dejiang, a native from Guoxian Village, not far from Mafang, who said that if Shi had not started the project, he would have done so himself.
Stuffed with academic books and computers, their courtyard is like a nerve center which keeps transmitting ideas and knowledge to local farmers. Lang was the first to be lulled by the seductive vision, as organic produce would be much more lucrative than those riddled with pesticides. "His income could probably be multiplied to thousands if the project is successful," Tang said.
Now, though, the crucial task is to build up a stable purchasing pool for Lang's 3.34-hectare farmland. The Mafang CSA has attracted 16 customers who paid 30,000 yuan each for a five-year presubscription for Lang's non-contaminated vegetables. Despite the privileges of enjoying direct delivery of soil-studded vegetables, they must also contend with potential natural disasters and other unexpected incidents. According to Tang, the Mafang program will take shape in two to three years, with hundreds of customers opening their wallets.
But Lang anticipates even greater success. He said that Spring Festival (The Chinese Lunar New Year), when Chinese people are accustomed to ostentatiously displaying their yearly achievements, especially on dinner tables, is his watershed period.
"However, once I found out how good the project is, I was thoroughly committed," he said. "You know, harvest never comes without heavy perspiration."
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)