Zhang Kairong's path out of poverty: pig farming opens the "door to prosperity"

Zhang Kairong is an ordinary farmer who lives in Group 11, Tieling Village, Luocheng Town, Qianwei County. There are only two people in his household, himself and his mother Zhou Chunlian, and they live a frugal and simple life.

His mother has been bedridden and unable to care for herself since 2010. With the situation at home like this, Zhang Kairong, who had been working away from home, had no choice but to return to farming so that he could better care for his mother.

Over the years, Zhang Kairong has massaged his mother's back and washed her feet every day, caring for her meals and daily life and making sure she lives in a relatively hygienic environment. Despite her long illness, his mother has never developed bedsores because of poor hygiene. Although he cared for his mother very well, the family's living conditions did not improve, which left Zhang Kairong very discouraged.

But since the work of poverty alleviation began, his life has slowly undergone a qualitative change. After Zhang Kairong became a registered poor household, village and group officials came to his home many times to learn about his situation, encouraged him to develop an industry, and helped him formulate poverty alleviation measures. Through the assistance of the village organization, Zhang Kairong saw hope of escaping poverty and becoming prosperous.

Zhang Kairong's family used to raise one sow, and each year they relied on selling the piglets the sow gave birth to for money. After these piglets are born, they are generally raised for more than 2 months and sold when they reach about 50 jin, with each one selling for more than 700 yuan. Last year, he sold more than 40 piglets in total and earned more than 20,000 yuan, successfully escaping poverty.

The village director and the "first secretary" encouraged him to expand the pigpen and scale up pig farming through a small loan. At first, Zhang Kairong did not dare take the risk lightly, afraid of losing money, so he delayed making a decision. Later, village officials came to his home many times and explained the Party's good policies. Through the help of the village organization, Zhang Kairong secured a 30,000 yuan loan. In the second half of 2016, he enjoyed a 6,000 yuan subsidy under the government's "three renovations" policy. Now, the living environment in Zhang Kairong's home has improved, and he has also bought a new sofa and coffee table.

At present, Zhang Kairong's family has 1 sow and 16 piglets. This year, he plans to expand the pigpen and raise 7 sows. Young sows can give birth after being raised for half a year, so in this way more than 100 piglets can be born in a year. Zhang Kairong has already cleaned the pigpen early and is preparing to build more than 20 sq m of pen space with his own hands.

With the industry developed, both Zhang Kairong and his mother have seen hope in life. He used to think he could only farm steadily, but he never expected that he could now escape poverty smoothly through pig farming and improve his living conditions. Zhang Kairong said excitedly: "Thank you to the Party's good policies and everyone's care and help. I will continue to work hard, learn more breeding techniques, and rely on my own hands to create a better life."