Grassroots efforts bring far-reaching rewards

Since May 2021, eight photovoltaic mushroom bases have been built in the county, with a total investment of 370 million yuan.

The bases are expected to generate 31.74 million kilowatt hours of clean energy, and the farmers can use the electricity produced to dry the mushrooms, and for refrigeration, Zheng Guidong said.

Yu Xinkao, a mushroom farmer in Shanyang village, Gutian, started working from a new photovoltaic shed made from concrete and steel this year, forsaking his old wooden shed with a thatched roof. He has expanded his production significantly.

"The new shed has better ventilation, and as we no longer need to worry about fire hazards, I decided to increase production," Yu said.

He is one of the first farmers in the village to try the new shed, and Yu said that this year he expects to make 80,000 yuan more than he did last year from growing mushrooms.

Chen Xiaofang, Party secretary of Shanyang township, said farmers in Gutian have decades of experience in growing mushrooms.

She said plenty of electricity is required to dry out the mushrooms, but the electrical wiring used poses considerable fire hazards for the villagers.

Officials at different levels conducted field research at the grassroots level to try to solve the problems the farmers faced, which resulted in the new sheds being built, Chen said.