Stories of Women Shaking Off Poverty

The Thriving Power of Knowledge

Liang Hongxiao, Tianyu Professional Cooperative of Fruit Seedlings in Pingshan County, Hebei Province

Liang Hongxiao is busy working every day. Her jobs include arranging workers for four fruit tree nursery bases, completing the daily work schedule, phoning possible customers, guiding of management farmers’field, preparing for lectures of fruit tree planting techniques, and so on.

A graduate of Hebei Agriculture University who majored in forestry and fruit industry, Liang Hongxiao was eager to utilize her knowledge for the prosperity of her hometown. Therefore, she gave up her highly-paid job in another province, returned to Pingshan and started her business. At the very beginning, it occurred to her that an agricultural cooperative, a cooperative economic organization closely connected to farmers, would be a good choice. In 2013, after a series of actions including leasing, replacing, shareholding and collaborating, she successfully established the Tianyu Professional Cooperative of Fruit Seedlings in Pingshan County with 1,180 mu [1] of land and three agricultural bases. Now, there are over 50,000 high-quality plants in the base, such as thin-shell walnuts, apples and peaches and four modern nursery gardens of around one million seedlings across a total 150 mu. With professional knowledge, she has carried out a great deal of research on plant cultivation technology and entrepreneurship innovation, thanks to which the organic matter content of the soil, the number of trees planted per unit area and survival rate of plants in mountainous regions are improved and the trees have better ventilation and light transmission conditions with fewer occurrences of pests and disease. Consequently, the price of walnuts, which now have better quality, has increased by nearly 40%. She also formed, demonstrated and promoted a labor-saving technical cultivation support system for producing high-quality walnuts to save costs, increase yield and generate more income. She obtained a patent for walnut seedling propagation technology, leading to a 10% growth in the grafting rate of walnut seedlings, and adopted a model of“cooperative plus bases plus farmers” in the agricultural cooperative, supporting large numbers of women and other underprivileged groups.

Liang also helped 22 nursery households in the four towns of Wangpo, Pingshan, Sanji and Gangnan in Pingshan County develop fruit tree industry through approaches like industrial integration and technical assistance. The total cumulative industrial area has reached 1,138 mu, with a radiating area of 3,000 mu. The base provides jobs for women in surrounding rural areas all year round. Currently, there are 30 production workers and more than 40 leaders devoted to leading women in rural areas to prosperity with technology, who have helped 1,500 rural women generate more income.

Speaking of Liang Hongxiao, Jiao Liping in Xiayu Village praised her sincerely, “When she gave up her high salary and returned home, we thought she made a poor decision that had no promising prospects. However, we think highly of her now. She not only established a successful fruit tree-growing demonstration garden, but also helped us rural women achieve economic prosperity.” Thanks to Liang, Jiao has learned fruit planting techniques and planted nearly 6 mu of fruit seedlings. “Our annual income has more than doubled. I follow Liang’s instructions in every part of the process, including the number of seedlings to plant. I didn’t have to worry about not knowing how to do sales, because she helps me there too.”

Jiao Liping is only one of the rural women who received help from Liang. For instance, Liu Huaqin from Xiayu Village has cooperated with Liang to set up a base focused on apple and walnut planting. Two underprivileged rural women, Xie Shuhua and Wang Shiju from Gangnan Town, increased their income after signing a contract and planting seedlings with the help of Liang. Many farmers who lack technology or capital voluntarily join Liang’s agricultural cooperative and work with her. Liang offers them seedlings and technology for free, and also sends free samples of organic pesticides to farmers as well, which solves the problem of plant pest control and ensures the quality and safety of fruit. Such acts have been well received by members.

The Tianyu Professional Cooperative of Fruit Seedlings is growing strong. Both the base and Liang herself have won many awards. Nevertheless, Liang never loses sight of her initial goal, which is to help more farmers shake off poverty. Now, her dream grows ever larger. She expects to create a fruit brand specific to Pingshan County and lead her hometown to realize the Chinese dream of common prosperity.

Text & Photo / Hebei Women’s Federation

[1] 1 mu≈0.165 acre.