Raising Rabbits Opens the Door to Prosperity, South of the Luo River Finds a Path to Income Growth
Little rabbit, little rabbit, open the door. For the more than 500 members who joined the Guanghui Rabbit Industry Professional Cooperative in Luonan County, Shaanxi, the long-eared, red-eyed rabbits have opened the door to prosperity for them. From 2009 to 2016, their rabbit-raising households earned an average annual income of more than 18,000 yuan, with a per capita income increase of 2,500 yuan. Raising rabbits has created promising "money prospects."
Creating Something from Nothing: A Remote Backwater Gains the Hyplus Meat Rabbit
Rabbits are herbivores with characteristics including low investment, short cycle, high reproduction rate, quick returns, and simple breeding techniques that allow men, women, young, and old alike to raise them. They are one of the ideal choices for poverty-stricken areas to escape poverty and achieve prosperity. In 2009, Lu Hongchan, who had achieved success in business in **, decided to return to her hometown of Luonan to build something. After expert investigation and evaluation, the recommendation was that Luonan's climate and environment were extremely well-suited for the growth and reproduction of French Hyplus meat rabbits. In December of that year, Shaanxi Province's only "French Hyplus Meat Rabbit" grandparent breeding stock base was established in Luonan County. In March 2010, grandparent breeding rabbits from Shandong settled in Luonan. From then on, the villagers of Jingcun Town had an industry to enrich themselves.
In order to raise the rabbits well and profitably, Lu Hongchan carefully tended to them in strict accordance with feeding procedures and technical requirements. During the day, she crouched in the rabbit shed observing the rabbits, diligently keeping notes and breeding records; at night, she still had to check whether the water, electricity, and ventilation in the rabbit shed were functioning properly. During that period, she slept only three or four hours almost every day. The rabbits grew at a delightfully surprising rate, but Lu Hongchan developed an eye condition from overwork. Seeing her always bustling in front of the rabbit shed with red eyes, the cooperative members affectionately called her "Rabbit Mom."
A Unique Model: The Party Branch Guarantees Rabbit-Raising for Impoverished Households
After several years of development, more and more members joined the cooperative, and the meat rabbit breeds expanded to three: Hyplus, Hyproly, and Hycole. In June 2015, Lu Hongchan built a new breeding base in Miaodi Village, Bao'an Town, and established the Party Branch of the Guanghui Rabbit Industry Professional Cooperative in Luonan County. Under the leadership of the Party Branch, the Guanghui Rabbit Industry base resolved issues of land, capital, and sales during its development, and established a targeted poverty alleviation model of "Party Branch guarantee, cooperative credit sales, impoverished household breeding, guaranteed minimum price buyback." In what way is this targeted poverty alleviation model so precise?
Lu Hongchan explained: "With the Party Branch of the village where the impoverished household resides providing the guarantee, weaned rabbits that have already been vaccinated are sold on credit to impoverished households for fattening and breeding. After 30 days of raising, they reach the standard for commercial rabbits. The cooperative takes them back for unified sales, and the net profit per rabbit can reach 5.5 yuan. If one household raises 10 groups of 240 rabbits per batch, calculated at 10 groups per year, the annual total income can reach 13,200 yuan. After deducting the cost of rabbit cages and feed, the annual net income is 11,870 yuan. For a three-person impoverished household, the per capita income can reach 3,597 yuan, and they can escape poverty within the same year."
Reaching a Higher Level: The Cooperative Built a Rabbit Manure Workshop
In 2017, the Guanghui Rabbit Industry Professional Cooperative took another step forward and reached a higher level: a planned total investment of 25.3 million yuan, to be built in two phases, covering more than 130 mu (including 72 mu of planting base and 58 mu of breeding base), producing 1.5 million young rabbits per year and 15,000 tons of rabbit feed per year as a modern rabbit industry factory.
The cooperative's management proudly introduced: "We will build a transit rabbit shed for temporarily holding commercial rabbits raised by farming households; we will also build a temporary rearing shed to serve as a distribution center for farming households to adopt young rabbits. In the production area, we will build a breeding buck shed, a cage cleaning and disinfection workshop, a maintenance workshop, a slaughtering and freezing workshop, a rabbit manure workshop, and a production office. Of course, the supporting water supply system, power supply system, biogas system, and waste incinerator will also be established along with them.
After the project is completed, it is planned to help 1,500 impoverished households escape poverty. Within five years, a production base of 5 million commercial rabbits can be built, with a planned annual benefit of 30 million yuan, driving 2,500 impoverished households out of poverty, with a per capita income increase of 3,000 yuan.