In April, the apple blossoms are in full bloom across the Weibei Plateau. At the thousand-acre orchard of the Qiulin Apple Cooperative in Baishui County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, Chairwoman Lin Qiufang leads a team of 178 women, seizing the critical agricultural season for flower thinning and pollination. Wielding scissors with practiced skill, they carefully remove excess buds, leaving behind the promise of a fruitful autumn.
After being honored as a National March 8th Red Flag Holder this year, Lin Qiufang feels a heightened sense of responsibility. "Spring orchard management is invaluable. As this marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, our women's team must set an exemplary standard," she stated.
Over more than two decades, Lin Qiufang has transformed from a homemaker into a leader, guiding a team of women to write a story of hard work and prosperity in the orchards of the Loess Plateau.
More than twenty years ago, Lin Qiufang earned a meager living by weeding in others' orchards. "I often wondered why our apples, which were clearly good, couldn't fetch better prices," she recalled, feeling determined to change this reality.
A turning point came in 2002 when Lin seized an opportunity to work at a seedling nursery. While others worked for wages, she treated it as an education. She observed techniques for sapling cultivation and grafting, persistently asking technicians questions. She practiced by day and studied by night, accumulating thick stacks of notebooks over the years.
Applying her learned skills to her own orchard—from pruning and fertilizing to pest control and variety optimization—Lin gradually became a locally recognized "technical expert." Her grafted trees showed significantly higher survival rates, earning praise even from specialists. The superior quality and yield of her apples attracted farmers from neighboring areas seeking advice.
More importantly, she discovered the key to unlocking the land's potential: technology.
After achieving prosperity, Lin noticed many idle women in the village with no income sources during the off-season. Recognizing that agricultural training had been her own pathway, she proposed, "Learn skills and earn money." This simple idea quickly attracted a group of women. In 2005, she formed a women's orchard service team, teaching techniques while working together. The team grew from 20 to over 100, and now boasts 178 members. Their expertise in orchard management extends beyond apples to cherries and peaches, and their services have reached from Weinan to Yan'an, and from Shanxi to Gansu.
To enhance their skills, Lin invited experts from the Northwest A&F University's Baishui Apple Experiment Station to provide training. The members, diligent and hardworking, have become proficient in grafting, pruning, and bagging techniques.
With strong technical skills, market opportunities followed. The team's services now extend far beyond Baishui County. They manage over 1,000 acres of orchards in Yanchang County and receive orders from Shanxi, Henan, and other regions. According to incomplete statistics, they manage over 60,000 acres of orchards, increasing farmers' income by more than 2,000 yuan per acre. More than 60 members have become "new professional farmers," mastering not only techniques but also management and operations.
Lin understands that long-term success depends on technology, not just effort. Guided by the university's experiment station, her cooperative has promoted the cultivation of superior apple varieties like "Ruixue," "Ruiyang," and "Ruixianghong" across 2,000 acres. These new varieties can sell for up to 30 yuan per apple, with profits nearing 70,000 yuan per acre.
From a few acres to a 200-acre demonstration orchard, from simple apple planting to annual production of 500,000 high-quality seedlings, and from selling fruit to selling technology and services—Lin's agricultural footprint continues to expand. Through the "cooperative + farmers + base" model, she has helped 189 households comprising 863 individuals achieve stable poverty alleviation.
Lin's family motto is "Love agriculture, engage in agriculture, revitalize agriculture, and enrich the people." Influenced by her, her husband established a machinery cooperative to provide mechanized services for local farmers. Their son, after graduating from university, returned home to build the "Qiulin Fangguo" brand, promoting local apples through online and offline channels.
Looking ahead, Lin plans to establish virus-free seedling bases and apple processing production lines, creating more employment opportunities for rural women. "Individual prosperity is not enough; true happiness lies in everyone achieving a better life," she emphasized.
In Weinan, Lin Qiufang is not alone. Countless women are contributing to rural revitalization, bringing "her power" from the fields to support the goals of the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
Comments