Shou Zhihua is 41 years old. After his retirement in 2004, he chose to start a business in hometown and contracted 30 mu (2 hectares) of orchards to plant Dongjiang Pear.

 

In order to improve the planting technology, Shou Zhihua asked advice from experts, read professional books to expand knowledge and made constant research. With those efforts, he became a renowned local pear grower within a few years. In 2009, he was elected as the chairman of Zhoumensi Pear Specialized Cooperative.

 

 

Over a dozen years, Shou Zhihua was dedicated to studying variety, technology, marketing and other aspects. Nowadays, the Dongjiang Pear has a planting area of 120 mu (8 hectares), which can produce an annual income of more than 600,000 yuan.

 

In addition, under his leadership, many villagers also joined his team and each of them working in the base can earn over 30,000 yuan per year. 

 

In 2015, the pear cooperative became a national farmers’ specialized cooperative. Driven by the “Cooperative + Base + Farmer” model, more than 400 farmers of Zhoumensi Town have planted Dongjiang Pear that covers an area about over 7,000 mu (466.7 hectares), yielding 3 million tons with an annual output value exceeding 10 million yuan.

 

 

The Dongjiang Pear industry has become a distinctive industry that consolidates the outcome of poverty alleviation and advances rural revitalization, providing a new platform for increasing farmers’ income.

 

Shou Zhihua has also been awarded honorary titles like the National Rural Youth Foregoer to Achieve Prosperity and Model Worker of Hunan Province.