Clever Income Boost from Raising Crayfish in Lotus Root Fields, Farmers on the Road to Prosperity

Planting lotus roots in paddy fields and raising crayfish in the water, combining planting and breeding to generate profits - returning farmer Chai Beiping tells of his recipe for prosperity. Recently, beside the Henggou Reservoir in the southeast direction of Cun Village, Wenquan Town, Donghai County, Jiangsu Province, we met this busy entrepreneurial expert. Chai Beiping explained that he began his entrepreneurial journey three years ago, and now has over 120 mu of transferred lotus root fields, established the Donghai County Qinglian Planting Cooperative, mainly operating with a combined lotus root and crayfish planting-breeding approach. "These over 120 mu of lotus roots are not all the same variety; there are early, mid, and late maturing ones. Early maturing lotus roots can be marketed early to capture the market and sell for a good price. Mid and late maturing ones coincide with the peak sales season and can meet mass market demand." Over three years, Chai Beiping has accumulated considerable experience in lotus root cultivation. But just three years ago, he was a complete layman.

Chai Beiping's experiences are very rich; he "muddled along" in Nanjing for many years, but always had the idea of returning home to develop. So, in 2013 he returned to his hometown of Cun Village and began planning what to do. Based on his experience selling fruit, Chai Beiping felt that planting lotus roots was a good choice, "a common vegetable, good taste, sells quickly." Having a feeling alone was not enough; he also made special trips to Feng County and many other places to investigate, learning about planting varieties, techniques, and integrated farming, making his entrepreneurial plan more grounded and easier to succeed.

After learning planting and breeding techniques, Chai Beiping transferred 120 mu of tidal flat land near Henggou Reservoir in the southeast direction of Cun Village and began his arduous entrepreneurship. "One mu of lotus roots yields at least over 3000 jin, and each jin of lotus root sells for over 1 yuan; for one mu of land, this alone brings at least over 3000 yuan in income." Chai Beiping, who began digging lotus roots in the paddy field, calculated the economic account for us, "This is not all. Last year I invested over 10,000 yuan in crayfish seedlings. If the market remains stable, each mu can yield 100 jin, and crayfish alone brings another 2000 yuan per mu." Speaking of catching crayfish, Chai Beiping is delighted. While digging lotus roots, he explained that the profit mainly comes from crayfish. Although this area is tidal flat land with low land transfer fees, it still reaches 600 yuan per mu. After deducting costs for seedlings, labor, and management, it almost offsets the lotus root output value, so crayfish becomes the net profit. "The day before yesterday I set a few ground cages in the lotus root field, and the next morning I caught 4 jin of crayfish, which sold for over 80 yuan at the market that morning." He said that now crayfish have just started foraging, and during the catching season, he can catch a small cartload in a day.

Chai Beiping waters a flourishing and happy life with his hard sweat. Besides planting lotus roots and raising crayfish, he also grows various vegetables by the paddy field and free-ranges chickens, ducks, and geese. Ecological planting and breeding have generated profits, and his annual income exceeds 240,000 yuan.