Govt official becomes kiwi fruit grower

It was not easy for Liu Tao to quit his job as a government official to become a kiwi fruit farmer.

When Liu's mother first heard the news, she wept, his father shouted and his 77-year-old grandfather cried out loud. Liu couldn't sleep for several nights before the family members finally showed understanding and support.

"There are so many problems in China's rural areas," Liu said. "Some people need to do something to change that right now, or it'll be too late."

Liu, born in 1981, was admitted to Peking University in 1999.

In his early 30s, he was elected deputy governor of Linli county in Hunan province and looked to be heading for a prosperous career as a civil servant.

"I don't know if I would have quit my job if I hadn't researched some rural problems when I worked as the deputy governor," Liu said.

"It worried me when I saw young villagers moving to big cities, abandoning their farmland and leaving their children behind. Many seniors have to live by themselves because their children need to work as migrant workers to earn money.

"Young people won't stay in their hometowns if they don't see a future for themselves. Many villages will have no residents soon, so some people need to stand up and serve as an example for them."

Liu comes from Paoma, a village in Dongyueguan township, Hunan, that was home to more than 60 young people. Now only 10 of them still live in the village. The township, which has a population of 32,000, has about 6,000 people working as migrant workers in cities.

A man of his word, Liu returned home and rented about 7 hectares of land to grow a type of kiwi fruit that has a red central starburst.

He invited agricultural experts to guide the farmers whom he hired to grow the fruit. The farmers, who used to play mahjong all day, now receive 110 yuan ($18) a day each.

"We'll have a profit of about 1 million yuan when the fruit ripens in three years," Liu said. "The villagers' lives will be better then."

He also plans to develop farm lodging in the village to attract tourists and to launch an online store selling local specialties, such as cured meat.

"If the kiwi fruit orchard and the farm stays develop well, I'll make the social security payments for the farmers and provide a pension for the seniors," Liu said. "Many people living in rural areas lead very difficult lives. Some cannot even pay for their medical expenses and choose not to go to hospitals."

The 34-year-old admitted that he feels stressed sometimes. "I worry about many problems, such as money and farming techniques," he said. "But I enjoy making progress from nothing to success. To me, a person's value doesn't lie in his achievements, but in the effort he makes."

Contact the writer at wenxinzheng@chinadaily.com.cn

Cang Wei contributed to this story.

(China Daily 06/27/2015 page1)