Crayfish farming helps Laibin returning migrant workers get rich together

On May 9, the author turned right from the densely built village area of Wanggua Village Committee, Liangtang Township, Xingbin District, Laibin City, Guangxi, and a beautiful rural scene suddenly burst into view: distant hills tinged with dark green, crisscrossing field paths, interlacing waterways, and an exceptionally lovely landscape. The small streams on both sides of the road were so clear you could see the bottom, and the crayfish in the ponds were faintly visible. The Yingshi Planting and Breeding Professional Cooperative in Xingbin District seemed to sit within a poetic painting.

"Our freshwater crayfish farming base was built by relying on the abundant water resources here." Huang Jing had worked in the catering industry elsewhere for more than ten years. With a keen business sense, he saw the gap in the Laibin market for crayfish farming, and combined with his hometown's excellent soil and water resources, his desire to return home and start a business kept growing. During the 2017 Spring Festival, Huang Jing and his cousin Qin Yong, who had worked in aquaculture in Jiangsu for more than ten years, hit it off immediately and invested more than 1 million yuan to establish the Yingshi Planting and Breeding Professional Cooperative.

At present, the cooperative has built more than 40 mu of paddy-field crayfish farming base, of which more than 30 mu has been stocked with breeding crayfish. They have now entered the breeding period, and sales are expected to begin by September. Huang Jing did the math for the author: "Calculated at 20-25 yuan per jin for crayfish, with a yield of 600 jin per mu, the output value can reach 500,000 yuan."

"These breeding crayfish were all flown back from Jiangsu. Because of regional differences, farming crayfish here requires even more attention to water temperature differences, as well as the crayfish's living habits and eating habits." Qin Yong, who has more than ten years of rich aquaculture experience, stood on the embankment, scattering feed into the pond while introducing things to the author. "In May we will also introduce Australian crayfish, stocking about 12 mu, to build the base into a crayfish farming demonstration base."

The two cousins are full of confidence about crayfish farming and have already paid the eight-year paddy-field rent in one lump sum. Since he already owns several restaurant storefronts, Huang Jing plans to first produce and sell on his own. After the base is built to scale, he will expand production further, make full use of the advantages of the natural water source environment, and lead the folks back home to farm crayfish and get rich together. At present, more than ten farming households in the village have expressed interest in joining their cooperative.

Huang Jing said: "After the base reaches scale, we will also build a seedling breeding base, so that villagers interested in farming can buy crayfish seedlings nearby. The whole village can form a joint force and become a widely known crayfish village. While escaping poverty and getting rich together, we can also fill the gap in the Laibin market and let local people eat local crayfish."