Crab King Abandons Medicine for Farming, Leads Villagers to Prosper Together
Chinese mitten crab
"Dr. Liu, nowadays you treat both people and crabs." On March 6, Liu Kesong, a villager from Anle Village, Xijiashan Town, Jiang'an County, said to Liu Qiang, head of the "Moxiang Qingshui Chinese Mitten Crab" farming base, who was conducting field water level management. "As long as everyone eats the green aquatic products I farm, no disease will ever arise. As long as I raise the crabs well and lead everyone to prosperity, that is more meaningful than being a doctor," Liu Qiang said with a smile.
Every day, Liu Qiang goes to the base fields to check the growth of the 100,000 crab seedlings put in not long ago. Once, healing the sick and saving lives was his ambition; now, leading his fellow villagers out of poverty toward prosperity is his wish.
Abandoning Medicine for Farming to Pursue an Industry
Liu Qiang and his wife were originally doctors, deeply loved by the villagers. For many years, those who came to him for treatment were fellow villagers worn out by heavy farm work, and seeing this troubled Liu Qiang greatly. Especially after being elected by the villagers as Party branch secretary of Anle Village, a strong sense of responsibility made it even harder for him to eat or sleep peacefully. "After discussing it, I decided to give up medicine for farming, lead my fellow villagers in developing an industry, and achieve prosperity by escaping poverty," Liu Qiang said.
In order to lead the villagers out of poverty to prosperity, Liu Qiang handed the heavy burden of healing and saving lives over to his wife. "As long as he can lead our elders and fellow villagers to prosperity, no matter how hard or tiring it is, I will support him." His wife's words moved Liu Qiang and greatly increased his confidence. He was able to devote himself wholeheartedly to industry development.
To achieve prosperity, the industry must be chosen accurately so as not to take detours, and only then can one be worthy of the villagers. Through long-term investigation, Liu Qiang combined the local area's good ecological environment, water resources and locational advantages, and after analysis and demonstration from multiple aspects such as market conditions, concluded that Anle Village was very suitable for developing aquaculture. Chinese mitten crabs have an extremely delicious taste and are a long-renowned delicacy. Liu Qiang decided to lead the villagers in developing aquaculture focused on Chinese mitten crabs, with bighead carp and shrimp raised alongside, increasing the industry's added value.
Demonstration and Leadership Gather the People's Hearts
But good things are often beset by hardships. At first, because they lacked confidence, most villagers took a wait-and-see attitude toward Liu Qiang's call. Liu Qiang well understood that "a melon forced off the vine is not sweet, but a sail that follows the wind voyages far." To make the villagers sincerely follow him, he had to take the lead himself and produce results, letting facts speak louder than words.
In the first half of 2016, after full preparations, Liu Qiang drew on the farming experience and techniques for Chinese mitten crabs from Dipeng Town and tried farming 10 mu of Chinese mitten crabs, succeeding. Once the Chinese mitten crabs were grown, demand exceeded supply, and major restaurants, rural inns and merchants from surrounding counties and cities rushed over and snapped them all up as soon as they heard the news.
The villagers' concerns were gradually dispelled, and they voluntarily transferred land or joined in to set up family farms. "Transferring paddy fields to raise Chinese mitten crabs is better than planting rice," said the elderly Zou Guangren, over 70 years old. "My family has 3 mu of fields transferred out, with a net income of 1,500 yuan per year. The children can also go out to earn money with peace of mind, without worrying about us old people doing heavy farm work."
Today, nearly 40 households of villagers have transferred out their fields, and the scale of the "Moxiang Qingshui Chinese Mitten Crab" farming base has reached 120 mu. In addition to receiving a transfer fee of 500 yuan per mu per year, villagers can also earn wages through base construction and management, truly achieving the organic integration of resource intensification, modern agriculture and modern services, with villagers gaining more tangible benefits. "The workers the farm needs to hire are all given priority to transferred-land households, and villagers who voluntarily buy shares are welcome to jointly pursue industry development. Next, I also plan to transfer land and lead my fellow villagers in planting ecological rice," Liu Qiang said.
In recent years, Xijiashan Town has vigorously developed modern agriculture, and a large number of modern agricultural development leaders like Liu Qiang have emerged, leading farmers to increase income, achieve prosperity and move toward a moderately prosperous life.