Dong Cheng Shou

Meet Dong Cheng Shou, a multiskilled farmer from Ruoli village in Gansu Province of Central China.

He is one of many villagers who have recently applied for loans through the micro-credit scheme which was launched by BESTSELLER FOUNDATION partners in the area.

With help from the loans, Dong Cheng Shou has been able to expand his farming activities by setting up a small fruit orchard which enabled him to start selling dried fruits at his homestead.

The community of Ruoli consists of four small villages set in a hilly and extremely dry environment. It is set far from bigger towns and has no access to natural sources of water.

Dong Cheng Shou manages 70 MU (11,5 acres) of land which are planted with beans, corn, wheat and sunflower. He gets around the dry and hilly area easily on his motorbike.

Lost profits
In the nearest town of Jinguyan county, Dong Cheng Shou is able to sell certain crops at 3 RMB per KG. Selling it in or around his home village of Ruoli, he gets only 1½ RMB per KG.

Despite the potential increased profit  - few farmers have the resources to transport their crops to sell them in the bigger town, due to Ruoli’s remote location. Instead the rely on villagers and random buyers to come to the area – where they will buy the crops at a low price. 

BESTSELLER FOUNDATION's and its local partners are pushing for the farmers to organise themselves to coordinate joint transport of their crops to the nearest towns so they can improve their income.