Large-scale porcupine farming, staying true to the original entrepreneurial path to achieve prosperity

With the active encouragement and strong support of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, youth innovation and entrepreneurship in Hainan Province has built good momentum. With the active support and encouragement of municipal and county government departments, young people returning home to start businesses have achieved a great deal, and a group of vibrant small and micro enterprises is thriving. These entrepreneurs left bustling cities, and many even gave up what their elders saw as an "iron rice bowl," resolutely embarking on the path of returning home to start businesses, all because of "homesickness" and the "dream of entrepreneurship." Nanhai Net has launched the "Youth Returning Home to Start Businesses" series of reports. It previously covered typical young entrepreneurs in Chengmai and Lingshui, and starting today will visit young returnee entrepreneurs in Qionghai to hear their entrepreneurial stories.

Xie Shanyang, who lives in the Sanletang Village Group of Hongse Village, Yangjiang Town, Qionghai City, Hainan Province, worked in Haikou, Guangzhou and other places after graduating from technical school, set up street stalls, sold roast meats, and ran a stationery store... Although he did not achieve much, in the end he still held on to his original entrepreneurial dream, returned to his hometown of Qionghai, Hainan, and became the first to successfully farm porcupines on a large scale, and provided porcupine seedlings and farming techniques to villagers and farmers in many parts of the province, leading more and more villagers to prosperity. A few days ago, a Nanhai Net reporter visited this young man who returned home to start a business.

Qionghai young man becomes fascinated with porcupines, returns to porcupine farming after several years

After Xie Shanyang graduated from a technical school in Haikou in 2007, he interned at a company in Haikou, then went to Guangzhou to learn electric tool repair, and later worked as a salesman for an enterprise. It was during his studies and work in Guangzhou that Xie Shanyang discovered porcupine quills being sold on the market. Out of curiosity, he learned that there was a porcupine farming base in Anhui, and in 2008 he went to Anhui to investigate.

"I first learned on a TV health program that porcupine quills have a wide range of uses, and I also found that few places on the market sold porcupine quills." In 2009, Xie Shanyang returned to his hometown and decided to start a porcupine farming business.

After Xie Shanyang discussed the idea with his parents, they did not agree. Instead, they invested 100,000 yuan for him to run a stationery store at the Guilin Yang University Town in Haikou, but it ultimately ended in a loss. In the following years, with his parents' support, Xie Shanyang worked in Haikou, Guangzhou and other places, set up street stalls, sold roast meats, and ran a stationery store. Although he could not persist, in his words, "though the business failed, the heart remains," and it was "like paying tuition."

In 2011, Xie Shanyang worked as a liquor salesman in Haikou, and it was then that he met his current wife, who was working as an accountant at a company in Haikou. Inspired by his mother, Xie Shanyang decided to start by selling porcupine quills, so he set up a street stall, sometimes selling as much as 1,000 yuan in a single day.

"If I sold porcupine meat too, business would surely be better." In 2012, Xie Shanyang returned to his original entrepreneurial intention of farming porcupines, and with his wife's support, he concealed it from his parents and family, resigned from his stable job in Haikou that paid more than 5,000 yuan a month, and the couple returned to Yangjiang countryside to start a porcupine farming business.

Borrowing money from his wife's family to introduce porcupine farming, working hard to overcome the "four hurdles"

After experiencing multiple business failures and spending several hundred thousand yuan of his parents' savings, Xie Shanyang's resolve only grew stronger and his heart did not waver. In the second half of 2012, he borrowed 50,000 yuan from his wife's family as capital, went to Anhui to study and introduced 15 porcupines in 5 groups (1 male and 2 females per group), at 3,700 yuan each.

At the time, because he had no experience, the introduced porcupines, due to the differences in climate between Anhui and Hainan, could not adapt to the local environment, and 6 died at once. Xie Shanyang did not become discouraged, let alone regret it. He actively sought advice from technicians at the municipal and township animal husbandry and veterinary departments, and also exchanged ideas with local specialized farmers. In response to the porcupines' growth problems, he used salt for prevention and treatment, improved the growing environment, and added local sandy loess to the feed. After half a year of exploration and practice, he finally brought the disease under control, and the female porcupines began to give birth.

Once the first hurdle of "adapting to the local environment" was passed, the problem of "mother biting the young" arose. In 2013, the porcupines gave birth to 18 young in total, 10 of which were bitten to death by the mother porcupines. Through study, Xie Shanyang learned that once a mother porcupine is startled, the best way for them to protect their young from harm is to bite them to death.

After finding the cause, in 2014 Xie Shanyang borrowed another 60,000 yuan to go to Anhui to introduce 30 porcupines (10 groups), and rebuilt and renovated the pens to achieve separate rearing of mothers and young and improve the growing environment.

The third hurdle was "disease prevention and treatment." Common porcupine diseases include paralysis of the feet, colds, and dysentery. Xie Shanyang often sought advice from local experts and specialists, gradually transforming from an ignorant "outsider" into an expert in porcupine farming.

Facing the final "sales hurdle," because porcupine meat naturally has a gamy smell, it was difficult for the market to accept it at first. Xie Shanyang's research found that porcupines have a special self-protective organ growing near their rump, which releases the gamy smell for defense when they are attacked. As long as it is removed during slaughter, the gamy smell problem is solved.

Learning porcupine farming from many sources, annual market-ready porcupine output of more than 200

The ups and downs of the entrepreneurial path gradually made Xie Shanyang mature and rational. He realized that entrepreneurship cannot rely on passion alone; one must respect science and master relevant technical skills.

In the process of porcupine farming, Xie Shanyang compared the temperature and humidity of Hainan with those of the mainland, ensured good ventilation in the pens, and installed electric lights, fans and other heat- and cold-protection devices to ensure a healthy growing environment for the porcupines.

Based on the characteristics of wild animals, Xie Shanyang also consulted local Chinese herbal medicine doctors to understand the effects of Chinese herbs such as "Shuanghuanglian" and banlangen, and used them for disease prevention and treatment in porcupines. Using soybeans and corn as the main ingredients, he went to riverbanks and mountain fields to gather the leaves, stems and roots of local plants to mix into the feed, and fed them according to the porcupines' size and physical strength.

At the same time, he rose early and slept late, focusing on the nutrition, temperature and humidity needed by female porcupines during estrus, implementing disease and epidemic prevention measures, staying by the side of female porcupines during the birthing period, balancing the ratio of protein to green feed in the feed, and doing a good job in re-mating and breeding to speed up porcupine reproduction.

Thanks to scientific management and proper feeding, the porcupines introduced later were safe and sound and grew normally, because they were fed salt water locally, and after returning they were fed salt water again while their food intake was controlled, allowing the porcupines to gradually adapt to the local environment. During the porcupines' growth, he never fed them hormone-containing feed, but instead used local corn and other ingredients as the main feed. For epidemic prevention, he mainly used Chinese medicine rather than antibiotics... Xie Shanyang finally succeeded!

At present, the porcupine inventory at Xie Shanyang's home has reached 600, including more than 110 female porcupines. The porcupine growth period is generally 10 months to 1 year, and 1 market-ready porcupine weighs 20 to 25 jin, with a market price of about 95 yuan per jin. The annual output of market-ready porcupines is more than 200, with a profit of more than 200,000 yuan.

In addition to learning farming techniques, Xie Shanyang also enrolled in the agricultural economic management program at Hainan Radio and Television University, actively participated in training courses for leaders of rural practical talents organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, participated in training for leaders of rural youth entrepreneurship and prosperity and heads of rural cooperative organizations held by the Youth League Provincial Committee, and also actively took part in provincial and municipal entrepreneurship and prosperity competitions. With the project "Wild Porcupine Domestication, Breeding and Farming Base," he won an excellence award in the start-up enterprise group of the provincial entrepreneurship competition, thereby continuously strengthening his ability to start businesses and create wealth.

Leading the establishment of the Sanle Porcupine Cooperative, developing the porcupine industry chain

Xie Shanyang was the first in Hainan to successfully farm porcupines on a large scale. In order to continuously strengthen and expand the industry, help people accept it, and expand its market effect, he invited villagers inside and outside the village who were interested in porcupine farming to visit, answered villagers' questions, and provided them with seedlings and techniques.

At the end of 2014, Xie Shanyang led the establishment of the Yangjiang Town "Sanle Porcupine Cooperative," providing information materials to visitors, conducting joint research, joint development, and joint progress. He was responsible for all members' porcupine seedlings, farming techniques, and disease and epidemic prevention techniques. When the porcupines were ready for market, he purchased them at market prices, achieving a win-win outcome for members, customers and himself.

In addition to surrounding fellow villagers, farmers from Sanya, Danzhou, Baisha and other places came in droves to buy porcupine seedlings and learn farming techniques. The cooperative cooperates with 52 farming households on and off the island, with an annual output of more than 3,000 market-ready porcupines, showing good momentum.

Now, with the support of relevant provincial and municipal departments, Xie Shanyang is building two additional porcupine farms on his contracted land, and is also planning a joint investment of 1 million yuan to build a porcupine base with a capacity of 1,000 animals outside the village.

Xie Shanyang hopes to expand the farming scale and move into deep processing. He is also stepping up the introduction of technology and talent, developing porcupine medicinal and handicraft projects, so that porcupine farming can be comprehensively utilized, the industry chain extended, and the masses led to common prosperity.