Impoverished households in Changsha County join forces to raise chickens and get rich, with average household income increasing by 5,000 yuan
"In the past, we scraped by on a few mu of poor farmland, but now the funds have come in and the projects have landed, so we have something to look forward to in raising chickens." Li Jinxiu, a villager from Putang Village, Jinjing Town, sold all 200 chickens she raised, with a net income of over 10,000 yuan. About to shake off the "poverty cap," Li Jinxiu has tasted sweet success. Full of drive, she took the initiative to approach the village-stationed assistance team members, wanting to follow the capable people in raising black pigs.
Choose the right projects, and capable people lead the way. The 18 registered impoverished households in Putang Village are expected to shake off poverty by the end of this year. Bordering Pingjiang County to the north, the village has a total of 77 registered impoverished households and is a primary battleground for poverty alleviation. Since the village-stationed assistance team arrived, capable people and impoverished households have "joined forces" to pursue development, getting rich through ecological farming and breeding, driving an average household income increase of over 5,000 yuan.
Grasping the "pulse" of industrial poverty alleviation
A year ago, Putang Village was still an unremarkable poor mountain village. More than two-thirds of it is mountainous terrain, the village had no industry, the villagers had no skills, young people left to work elsewhere, and the elderly stayed behind at home.
The change came from a new path of industrial poverty alleviation. In early 2016, the village-stationed assistance team arrived, taking a three-step approach of identifying poverty, verifying poverty, and eliminating poverty, sounding the call for poverty alleviation. Plant where suitable, raise where suitable. Taking into account the local reality of more mountains and less land, the team set its sights on the path of industrial poverty alleviation, introducing industries with good market prospects and strong driving capacity such as improved fruit tree cultivation and green-shell laying hen breeding, using ecological farming and breeding to drive villagers to increase income and get rich.
Chinquapin and yellow peaches were planted all over the mountains, green-shell laying hens were delivered free of charge to farmers' hands, and villagers dipped into their own pockets to build coops... Industrial poverty alleviation "channeled in living water," projects blossomed one after another, and the village's entrepreneurial wave surged higher and higher. Since the beginning of this year, the village-stationed team, in the form of rewards in lieu of subsidies, has provided 5,000 free chick seedlings to impoverished households in two batches, and the village's improved chinquapin and yellow peach planting area has reached nearly 500 mu. A group of large-scale growers and breeders stood out, driving more than 150 farming households to participate.
Prescribing the "remedy" of joint development
Yang Manlin, 30 years old, is disabled in his left foot and cannot do heavy physical labor. He mustered all his energy, dipped into his own pocket to buy chick seedlings, and was the first specialized chicken farmer in the village. Due to lack of experience and skills, the survival rate of his 200 chick seedlings was less than 5%. Watching the 4,000 yuan he had scraped together from every source go down the drain, Yang Manlin was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Jin Junmin, a capable man in the village, is in the prime of life, experienced, and a "veteran" at hatching chicks. Regulating temperature and humidity, ventilating and disinfecting in time, and adding feed and administering vaccines to the chick seedlings - Jin Junmin is not the least bit sloppy. Diligent and eager to learn, he even traveled far to Jiangxi and other places to "seek guidance," and through the internet "took masters" from agricultural science experts, and the survival rate of his bred chick seedlings has remained stable at over 92% year-round.
Impoverished households have enthusiasm and drive, but lack funds and skills. Going it alone is risky, and often involves much effort with little reward. Capable people understand technology, are good at management, know how to operate, and have broad paths to wealth. "Raising chickens requires skills. The first 45 days are a sensitive period with a high mortality rate." To solve the problem, the poverty alleviation team mobilized Jin Junmin to provide foster-care services for the village's impoverished households. After the chick seedlings are vaccinated and grow to about 2 jin, they are then delivered to the impoverished households' homes, reducing risk to a minimum and helping impoverished households steadily increase income.
Cultivating the "fruit" of increased income and wealth
"Funds follow the poor, the poor follow capable people, capable people follow industrial projects, and industrial projects follow the market." With the village-stationed assistance team and capable people as backing, Yang Manlin is full of confidence. This year, he made a determined effort to expand his breeding scale, contracted 2 mu of mountain forest, established a professional cooperative, built an original ecological breeding farm, and free-ranged 3,000 birds including chickens, ducks, and geese.
"I not only want to shake off poverty, but also lead my whole family to get rich." With less risk and more drive, Yang Manlin also planted more than 20 mu of yellow peaches and chinquapin, planting "money trees" in the mountain gullies. Now, he is planning to expand his business territory next year, develop vegetable cultivation, and become a boss through entrepreneurship and wealth.
Villager Yang Weinian, 54 years old, whose elder brother became disabled three years ago due to illness and cannot take care of himself, and the two brothers depend on each other. Yang Weinian took on the heavy responsibility of caring for his brother, staying by his side 24 hours a day without leaving him for a moment. Seeing everyone in the village raising chickens, he could not sit still either, and took the initiative to contact the village-stationed assistance team members, asking for chick seedlings at home. Hard work pays off. This year, all 50 of his chick seedlings survived and are about to go on the market for sale.
Targeted poverty alleviation leaves no one behind. From "you want me to get rich" to "I want to get rich," the villagers chase and overtake one another, and no one is willing to admit defeat. The 33 impoverished households that meet the breeding conditions received free laying hens, and more than 80% are now laying eggs normally, expected to generate nearly 5,000 yuan in income for each household. To connect with sales channels, with the village-stationed assistance team acting as a bridge, the Party School of the Changsha County Party Committee extended an "olive branch" to Putang Village and signed the first order. Some of the poultry raised by impoverished households will be delivered to the cafeteria tables, ensuring no worries about sales.