Villagers in Shangxing used to live deep in the rocky mountains. (Photo by Ma Chi/chinadaily.com.cn)
But his proposal was shot down as many senior people were reluctant to leave. Even the old village chief and his own father called the idea unrealistic, claiming nobody had ever done that before.
Despite the doubts and objections, Mo in 1987 led 16 households, or 83 people, out of the mountains. They contracted 450 mu of farmland from a neighboring village on which they grew sugarcane and cassava.
Since mango was introduced to the area in the 1980s as it is suitable for the red soil typically seen in the region, Mo made up his mind to grow this fruit to enrich his fellow villagers. But it was not easy to start something from scratch.
Mo recalled when he and other villagers began growing it in the early 1990s, they had no money to buy seeds and fertilizers. They had to go to the nearby town to collect mango pits discarded by people and pick up ashes and pig feces as substitutes for fertilizers.
The lack of expertise also stood in their way to prosperity.
In the first five years, the trees did not bear a single fruit, said Mo. That forced him to seek assistance from experienced farmers in nearby villages.
He also went to consult Ou Shijin, a horticulture expert in Guangxi University. After repeated trial and errors, he gradually became an expert in mango farming.
