Source: Science and Technology Daily
◎ Reporter Ma Aiping
The fate of mankind is shared, and there are herbs everywhere in the end of the world.
On September 2, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the 20th Anniversary of Foreign Aid and the International Cooperation Forum on Helping Sustainable Development.
At the forum, Luo Zhaohui, director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, made a special proposal in his speech: "35 years ago, a professor in Fujian Province, China, through years of tireless exploration and experimentation, cultivated the small grass that withered with the years and accompanied the mountains and the autumn moon into a 'treasure grass' that benefited the people. The high yield and low cost of fungal grass can withstand drought, retain water and soil, and fight through wind and sand, which has made great contributions to the people of China and the recipient countries to get rid of poverty and become rich. Today, we are honored to invite Professor Lin, the inventor of fungal grass technology. Let us pay tribute to him with warm applause. ”
Because of the TV series "Mountains and Seas", Lin Zhanxi, chief scientist and science and technology commissioner of the National Engineering Research Center of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, has been well known to audiences across the country for his story of poverty alleviation through science and technology in Ningxia. In reality, little is known about his mushrooms.
They named their children "fungus grass"
In 1986, Lin Zhanxi invented the fungus and grass technology, breaking the boundary between the traditional "grass rot fungus" and "wood rot fungus", and solving the world problem of "fungal forest contradiction".
As an inclusive emerging technology, the Chinese government and international organizations are keenly aware that fungal herb technology can provide strong support and assistance to developing countries.
The first stop on the road to foreign aid by fungal and grass technology is Papua New Guinea.
From 2001 to 2019, Lin Zhanxi went to PNG 22 times to organize the implementation of the fungal grass technology project. In 2017, the world record of 854 tons of fresh grass per hectare was set in papua New Guinea East Highlands Province.
"I led the expert group to achieve a breakthrough of 'zero' in the cultivation of local edible mushrooms in a difficult environment. To this end, The Eastern Highlands Province held a grand celebration, raised the five-star red flag, and played the Chinese national anthem. Lin Zhanxi told the Science and Technology Daily reporter.
Chinese scientific and technological workers have been praised by the local government and people, who say that Lin Zhanxi is a "bird of paradise" (the national bird of Papua New Guinea) and a "messenger of friendship between the People of Pakistan and China", and praised China as their true friend.
At present, the cultivation of fungal grass in Papua New Guinea has expanded to 8 provinces and 16 districts, and the earliest Eastern Highland Province has jumped from an unknown remote highland province to a production area of The famous Rufa mushroom in Pakistan.
"In gratitude, some farmers changed their names to 'fungal grass', and some used 'fungal grass' to name their children. Former PNG Police Minister Carani changed his daughter's name to 'Fungus Grass' and published it in the newspaper. Lin Zhanxi said.
So far, China has sent 86 batches of 278 people to foreign countries. Since the outbreak of the global COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the Mycoplasmic Herb Technical Expert Group has continued to work in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Central Africa, Rwanda and Lesotho.
"The Zulu Kingdom Gives Birth to Chinese Mushrooms"
In 2005, the African Times headlined "Birth of Chinese Mushrooms in the Zulu Kingdom – A Successful Model of Sino-South Cooperation" to report on the successful practice of the Fungus Project.
However, at the beginning of the implementation of the international agricultural technical assistance project, the phenomenon of "water and soil dissatisfaction" was widespread.
In order to solve the worldwide problem of difficulty in entering the village and entering the household and sustainable development, the fungal and grass technical team led by Lin Zhanxi adopted the measures of "four combined with five transformations" to promote the bacterial grass technology to take root and blossom in a foreign country.
"The 'four combinations' means that the implementation of the project should pay attention to the combination with the local natural conditions, the local people, the local government, and the local social needs." The five modernizations are technology localization, personnel organization, method simplification, production standardization, and industrial systematization, so that farmers can understand it at a glance, learn it at a glance, and do it as soon as they do it, and they can produce because of ugliness and simplicity, and local materials. Lin Zhanxi said.
It is better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish. As of 2020, China has held 270 international technical training courses on fungal herb technology, trained more than 10,509 trainees, 24 young people from 11 countries studied master's and doctoral degree courses in Fujian, and international students have graduated and returned to China to become the backbone of the continuous development of fungal and herb technology in the local area, and a number of fungal and grass entrepreneurs have emerged in various countries.
They are like "sparks", igniting the light of hope and friendship.
For 20 years, fungal grass has been praised by foreign countries as "rich grass", "happiness grass", "sun grass" and "Chinese god grass".
Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the United Nations General Assembly, said: "Through the herb technology, China has told us a great story, and this story has now been more than 100 countries that have benefited from this innovation. The spark ignited in Fujian province has shown the potential for innovation that, if nurtured and deployed properly, can change the living conditions and improve the livelihoods of people around the world. ”
(Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, September 5)