Chongqing fish farmer finds a new path to prosperity through aquaculture

The sun was just right and the breeze was gentle. The shimmering water reflected the blue sky and white clouds. Inside the modern fishery demonstration park in Lirang Town, Liangping District, Chongqing, lively fish swam in the ponds, wagging their tails as they searched for food, their playful appearance quite endearing.

"These fish have grown well this year. They should fetch a good price." The speaker was today's protagonist, Liu Dili, a tall man with dark skin and small but spirited eyes. He crouched by the fish pond, holding a water quality monitor in his hand, carefully observing the numbers on the gauge with a focused expression.

Returning home to seize a business opportunity and build over a hundred mu of fish ponds

In 1994, Liu Dili came to Guangzhou to work as a migrant worker, full of youthful vigor. Because he was diligent and hardworking, Liu Dili was quickly promoted to department supervisor, and his career was flourishing. "Dew turns white tonight; the moon is brightest over my hometown." Although he was doing well away from home, through the trials and hardships he often missed his hometown. "I never felt a sense of belonging out there," Liu Dili said. So in 2006, Liu Dili resolutely chose to resign and return home. That same year, his second son was born, which made him even more determined to stay in his hometown to support his elders and take care of his children.

"Although conditions in my hometown aren't as good as out there, I always believed that as long as I work hard and dare to strive, I can find a path to success," Liu Dili said.

No hardship, no expertise. After returning home, Liu Dili was hardworking and tenacious, taking up the handmade production of dried tofu skin. Not only that, he also raised pigs and grew lotus roots at the same time, using the waste materials from the dried tofu skin production to feed the pigs, and using pig manure to fertilize the lotus roots. His path of three-dimensional agriculture became more and more professional, and his "little life" became smoother and smoother.

In 2014, Lirang Town set off a wave of "fish farming fever." Liu Dili smelled a business opportunity, and his strong enterprising spirit made him determined to change the status quo.

"Lirang Town has an advantageous geographical location and quality conditions for fish farming. Young people just need to keep trying and challenging themselves," Liu Dili said.

Acting immediately on his word, Liu Dili began traveling to major aquaculture farms, learning breeding experience from veterans. With his willingness to endure hardship and his love of thinking things through, that same year, Liu Dili and his friends raised more than 3 million yuan and, in Groups 3, 6, 7, and 8 of Chuanxi Village, transferred 210 mu of land and started working on their own.

Overcoming obstacles one by one, the rainbow appears after the storm

"A sharp sword is honed from grinding; the plum blossom's fragrance comes from the bitter cold." Aquaculture was far from as easy as the young Liu Dili had imagined. Transferring land, building fish ponds, purchasing fry, and raising fry - he encountered many "roadblocks" at every step.

At the beginning of building the fish ponds, because the wiring layout along the road section was very messy, moving the utility poles became a thorny problem. After finally solving the utility pole problem, everyone enthusiastically built the fish ponds. Just as the ponds were taking shape and they were about to start farming fish, a heavy rain ruined all their previous efforts. Liu Dili's hopes leaked away along with the water in the ponds. It turned out that the road section where the ponds were built had uneven terrain and was mainly sandy soil. After the heavy rain washed over it, the soil became even looser, its bearing capacity decreased, and it collapsed.

"A blow to the head, very discouraging. During that time I couldn't eat or sleep." Liu Dili recalled those days when he was overwhelmed with worry. "But sad as it was, when a problem arises you always have to find a way to solve it. You can't give up halfway." Liu Dili "rallied his forces," thought about the problems with the pond's cross-slope, and came up with countermeasures targeted at the problems. He added wire mesh to the ponds and hardened them with cement.

"When the ponds were first built, we mainly raised grass carp, using fry purchased from Guangzhou." As Liu Dili introduced the early days of the business to us, he walked toward the fish feed dispenser by the pond. He skillfully poured brown fish feed into the machine, then flipped the switch. The once quiet pond immediately came alive, with a "dark mass" surging in the pond as hundreds upon hundreds of fish scrambled for the feed.

"The techniques of fish farming can't be mastered all at once. There's a lot of knowledge involved," Liu Dili said. In the first year, because grass carp have weak constitutions and are prone to illness, and he lacked experience, the grass carp he raised came down with enteritis and hepatobiliary syndrome, and over a thousand jin died. At the moment of choosing between persisting and giving up, Liu Dili learned his lesson, summarized his experience, sought advice from many sources, and threw himself entirely into his fishery, finally digging up his first pot of gold.

As the old saying goes, "Long illness makes a doctor." After experiencing many failures, Liu Dili gradually figured out the tricks of fish farming. By observing how the fish ate to understand their physical condition; what ammonia nitrogen content and pH level the pond water needed to reach to be suitable for fish growth; how to control the oxygen supply in the pond... Gradually, Liu Dili also became a fish farming expert of some renown.

Flowing water aquaculture and scientific prosperity forge a new path

At Liu Dili's breeding base, four large blue flowing water tanks are quite eye-catching. The reporter noticed that each flowing water tank has special-material blocking nets at both the upper and lower ends, with a water pusher installed at the front upper end and a feces collection tank at the lower tail end. According to Liu Dili, this is the low-carbon, high-efficiency circulating flowing water aquaculture system adopted by the breeding base.

In June 2015, under the guidance of experts, Liu Dili built two flowing water tanks. After completion, he conducted trial farming of carp. Not only did the yield increase, but the breeding cycle was also shortened. A single flowing water tank can produce 9,000 kg of carp.

"Low-carbon, high-efficiency circulating flowing water aquaculture in ponds has advantages such as reducing the feed conversion ratio, shortening the breeding cycle, reducing the occurrence of fish diseases, improving fish quality, and lowering management costs," Liu Dili introduced.

Seeing the prospects of low-carbon, high-efficiency circulating flowing water aquaculture in ponds, in January 2016 Liu Dili began to expand the scale of this aquaculture, investing more than 400,000 yuan to build flowing water tanks each measuring 22 m long, 5 m wide, and 2.2 m high, and stocking species such as yellow catfish, channel catfish, and crucian carp. Compared with the previous flowing water tanks, the largest of these newly built tanks can hold about 18,000 kg of fish, with a per-mu yield 4 times that of the original farming, achieving greater efficiency. As of now, the entire base has a total of 8 flowing water tanks.

Because of scientific management, rich experience, and advanced technology, Liu Dili's breeding scale has grown larger and larger. Today he has also established Chongqing Tiange Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co., Ltd. The fish he raises are mainly sold to Chongqing, Wanzhou, Dazhou, and other surrounding districts and counties, with annual sales reaching more than 200 tons and annual net profit of more than 500,000 yuan.