New fisherman Gu Hao raises fish in old ponds

"If you ask me how I differ from traditional farmers, it's simple: I have an internet mindset. Through industry training, I acquired the latest technology, learned about the latest industry trends, and stood alone at the forefront of the industry." This is how Gu Hao, a post-80s college graduate who returned home to start a business and a new-type professional farmer in Nanling County, Anhui Province, summed up his 5 years of entrepreneurship.

Gu Hao, 29, was born into an aquaculture family. Influenced by his family environment, he aspired to work in aquaculture from a young age. After graduating from high school in 2004, he applied to Shanghai Ocean University and was admitted to the Agriculture and Forestry Economic Management major. During 4 years of study, he earned a Bachelor of Management degree and minored in aquaculture.

At the end of 2010, he decided to return to his hometown to start a business. "Making a mark in the countryside is still a career." To do aquaculture back home, the first thing was to decide what to raise. As people's living standards improve, various high-end aquatic products are selling better and better. But Gu Hao did not choose special aquaculture such as shrimp, crabs, turtles, or soft-shelled turtles. Instead, based on local market demand and local conditions, he chose freshwater "four major Chinese carps" as his main culture species.

Using his professional knowledge, Gu Hao spent 3 years continuously learning from others and exploring through practice, quadrupling both unit aquaculture output and efficiency.

Now, with support from a local government startup loan, he has contracted 300 mu of aquaculture water surface, with an annual output value of more than 1 million yuan. "My current annual net income of several hundred thousand yuan is no problem, much better than working away from home," Gu Hao said.

As a young person determined to develop the local aquaculture industry, after returning home to start a business, Gu Hao was not satisfied with using his aquaculture technology to develop alone. Instead, he kept nearby aquaculture farmers in mind. Drawing on the demonstration effect of his own ponds and using the aquaculture technology and information he had mastered, he actively influenced surrounding aquaculture farmers and helped them increase production and income according to local conditions. Through several years of Gu Hao's technical services and training guidance, many local farmers shifted from extensive farming models with an average yield of three to five hundred jin per mu to large-scale, standardized, and scientific farming with one to two thousand jin per mu, achieving a thousand-yuan-level increase in average income per mu.

Regarding future development, Gu Hao is full of confidence: "There is no industry that cannot make money, only people who cannot make money. To devote yourself to agriculture, you must master skills, and even more, you must be able to settle down and be patient. As long as you are willing to endure hardship, taking root in agriculture offers great prospects."

Cai Min, Wang Junfeng, Ren Qingsong