Raising chickens under the forest leads farmers in Qianjiang, Chongqing, onto the road to prosperity
From a migrant worker to a locally somewhat well-known entrepreneurial success, An Wenpin, a native of Kuzhu Village, Shanling Township, Qianjiang District, has relied on his own hard work to blaze a trail to prosperity by raising free-range laying hens under the forest. When nearby villagers mention him, they cannot help but give him a thumbs-up. Recently, this writer visited his farm to learn about his entrepreneurial journey face to face.
Caring for family: returning home after drifting south
An Wenpin's family lived in Kuzhu Village, Shanling Township, for generations, honestly working as farmers. After graduating from junior high school, faced with a hometown that had neither favorable timing nor favorable location, he resolutely boarded a train heading south to Guangdong to chase his dreams. In Dongguan, Guangdong, An Wenpin worked in construction and in factories. After moving around several times, he gradually became a department supervisor at an electronics factory, saving tens of thousands of yuan every year.
After drifting away from home for a long time, his parents had grown old, and his children were due to start school. It was time to go home and take care of his parents and children. An Wenpin discussed it with his family and decided to return home to go into farming.
"My parents raised us for decades, enduring hardships to bring us up. Now they are old, weak and often ill. As their children, we cannot always think about making money; spending more time at home with them is the best filial piety. Returning home to start a business lets me take care of my parents and children while also earning money. It is a win-win matter, so why not do it?" An Wenpin said with a serious face.
Returning home to start a business: raising free-range chickens under the forest
In 2013, Shanling Township vigorously developed free-range chicken farming, and An Wenpin also tried his hand at raising free-range chickens.
"Shanling Township belongs to a hilly area, with abundant forest resources and high vegetation coverage, suitable for developing under-forest farming and mountain farming," introduced Luo Yong, the township leader in charge of agriculture in Shanling Township.
In 2013, An Wenpin contracted more than 30 mu of mountain land and began trying to raise free-range chickens. With the help of the local animal husbandry and veterinary station, he formulated a method for raising free-range chickens: enclosing the mountain, raising them within fences, building chicken coops at fixed points, feeding corn at fixed times, and letting them range freely.
As the scale expanded, An Wenpin found that problems with under-forest free-range chicken farming followed one after another. He noticed that many places in the woodland he had fenced off were completely bare, and the chickens no longer liked to go there to range. But where else could he find so much woodland? Rent was expensive too. How to solve this problem? He began seeking help from departments such as the district animal husbandry and veterinary bureau and the district science and technology association.
"Chicken manure has a high urate content. Too much of it easily causes soil hardening and leads to completely bare ground. This problem can be solved by reducing the capacity of the chicken coop, rotating grazing at fixed points, and planting grass," relevant staff members of the Qianjiang District Science and Technology Association told An Wenpin.
"The district animal husbandry and veterinary bureau and the district science and technology association sent professional and technical personnel to my farm many times for on-site guidance, and also organized me to attend breeding training held in the district. Now I have mastered a certain amount of free-range laying hen feeding and management technology and key points of epidemic prevention," An Wenpin introduced. Now, he said, his chicken farm no longer has "completely bare ground," nor has there been any death from disease.
An Wenpin said happily, "I now place great importance on communicating and keeping in touch with the animal husbandry and veterinary station and the district's chicken-raising experts. Without technology, raising too many simply will not work."
Luo Yong, the township leader in charge of agriculture in Shanling Township, introduced that in An Wenpin's chicken farm, from the design of the farming model and animal epidemic prevention and control to the height of the net fencing and the size of the chicken sheds, all of it gives play to the advantages of modern farming technology.
At present, An Wenpin's chicken farm has more than 3,000 birds on hand, produces about more than 150,000 free-range eggs annually, and reaches a net farming income of more than 80,000 yuan.
Facing the future: hoping to lead fellow villagers to prosper together
When talking about his plans for the future, An Wenpin said thoughtfully: "Now my chicken farm has already reached a certain scale, and through years of farming practice, continuous learning, and participation in professional knowledge training held by the animal husbandry bureau, my farming technology has also become relatively mature. Next, he plans to expand the farming scale and establish a free-range laying hen farming professional cooperative or a family farm, so that other ordinary people can also participate in under-forest free-range laying hen farming and help them achieve common prosperity."
"Now isn't 'Internet Plus' all the rage? Whatever you do is inseparable from the internet. Qianjiang District is also vigorously supporting rural e-commerce!" An Wenpin said excitedly. In the next stage, first, he will further study technology related to under-forest free-range laying hen farming and strive to double and expand the scale of under-forest free-range laying hen farming; second, he will develop original ecological under-forest free-range laying hen farming, raising original ecological under-forest free-range laying hens without feeding any feed additives, build his own free-range laying hen brand, and make the brand famous and shine; third, he will study computers well and make good use of rural e-commerce and the internet to sell free-range chickens and eggs online and across the country.