Gualou helps Hushan out of poverty

On a Gualou farm in Hushan village of Anhui Province, the vines are full of fruit.

Villagers harvesting fruits on the farm.

A remote hilly village covering more than 2,400 acres of land in east China’s Anhui Province, Hushan used to be poor, lacking of transport infrastructure, irrigation facilities, and eventually business opportunities. Among its 898 households of 3156 villagers, 120 households, representing 292 people, were living below the national rural poverty line of 2,736 yuan a year (2013 standard).

Lu Chengping, a 47-year-old villager, suffers from a mental disorder and can only do simple farm work. Up to 2016, after deducting the costs of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and labor, her family’s 1.3 acres of land would generate no more than 6,400 yuan (US$930) per year. To find better-paid work, most villagers went to cities, leaving the village almost empty.

With support from the poverty alleviation team assigned to the village in 2015, Hushan village officials were able to learn from other places how to grow gualou (Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim), a flowering plant found in some parts of China and one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, and to develop it into an industry so as to help the villagers out of poverty.

According to Zhang Yong, the Party secretary of Hushan village, one acre of Gualou can generate additional yearly revenues of 12,000 to 15,000 yuan (US$1,700 to 2,200) compared with traditional crops such as oilseed rape, rice or wheat.

In December 2015, with support from the township government, Hushan established a Gualou farm, providing villagers with jobs close to their homes.

In August 2017, the Hushan villagers committee, together with other nine new type agricultural entities, established the Lujiang Hushan Supply and Marketing Cooperative Co. Ltd. The committee initially invested 1.885 million yuan of poverty alleviation funds (US$274,500) which were converted into 188.5 shares and are collectively owned by the village. Using their land usage rights, 101 households received 6 shares per acre of land. Using their tangible and intangible assets, the nine business entities received 120 shares. As agreed at a stockholders’ meeting, all stockholders get an annual dividend that comes from two parts, one being a guaranteed dividend of 500 yuan (US$70) per share, and the other a portion of 10 percent of the net profit according to shareholding. The other 90% of the net profit will be used for future investment and public goods.

In 2017, the 101 households received a total dividends of 375,000 yuan from the 500-yuan-per-share part, with each household having an average increase of 3,712 in their incomes.

In 2018, 134 more households joined the cooperative with 250 acres of land from which they got 1,500 shares. As shareholders, these villagers can also earn wages by providing labor services, at least 6,000 yuan (US $876) per person each year.

Lu Chengping has a share in the cooperative with her 1.3 acres of land. She received more than 4,000 yuan (US$580) at the end of 2017. In addition, by working on the farm she earned more than 6,000 yuan (US$870) the same year.

Having established a complete chain from planting to processing and sales, the Gualou farm in Hushan has provided more than 100 job opportunities for the villagers, including 33 residents classified as impoverished. As the Gualou vines climb up over the hills of Hushan, more and more villagers are escaping from poverty.