One-armed man masters pig farming techniques, runs a thriving pig farm in Sanmenxia

Qin Jun, with his one arm, pulls a feed cart, preparing to feed the pigs in the pigpen. Image source: Sanmenxia Daily

Image source: Sanmenxia Daily

He uses his right hand to put on clothes and shoes, wash his face and brush his teeth, uses his right hand to push the feed cart to serve dinner to nearly a hundred pigs, and then uses his right hand to clean the pigpens... All the work inside and outside the pig farm is done by him alone with one arm, and he has been doing this for four years.

He is Qin Jun, 34 years old this year, from Duanyan Village, Guanyintang Town, Shanzhou District, and the pillar of his family. He has to care for his elderly, ailing mother and also run a pig farm, yet with his one arm he has single-handedly pushed away the gloom hanging over his household and sung a song of striving to escape poverty across the land of Shanzhou.

"Qin Jun has accomplished what many able-bodied people might not be able to accomplish. He is truly a fine example of shaking off poverty and becoming prosperous." After hearing the introduction from Duan Wansuo, director of the Duanyan Village Committee, on August 11 the reporter came to the pig farm to interview this promising young man who, though disabled, has a strong will.

In 2009, while working at a factory, Qin Jun tragically had his left arm crushed off by a machine, leaving him with a disabled left arm. In 2012, Qin Jun gave his accident compensation money to his older brother, who together with a friend started a pig farm. Midway through, due to poor management, his brother handed the pig farm over to Qin Jun to run. Qin Jun firmly believed that nothing in the world is difficult; as long as one has the will, the pig farm would surely be well managed.

But an ordinary farmer with neither pig farming skills nor capital, when could he ever develop the pig farm and set it on a path of healthy growth?

To ensure the annual slaughter rate of pigs, Qin Jun raised 15 sows to breed piglets. While selling adult pigs, he also raised piglets, selling one batch and starting another, ensuring 100 pigs on hand.

In the winter of 2014, the live pig market remained sluggish, and almost all the money invested earlier was lost. Qin Jun did not even have money to buy vegetables, so he borrowed money to buy the cheapest rice, flour and oil, and weathered the cold winter together with his mother. Misfortunes never come singly: because a vaccine was administered incorrectly, he lost three sows at once... The successive blows did make him somewhat sad, but he quickly pulled himself together and hurried to other pig farms in the village to seek advice from experienced hands.

Qin Jun is a man who is good at thinking. Through four years of pig farming practice, he gradually came to understand that pig farming is a technical trade, and that not a single link in the chain - pig breeds, feeding, breeding, epidemic prevention, hygiene and so on - can be allowed to fail. Take the selection of pig feed, for example: he insists on using feed produced by legitimate manufacturers, and resolutely refuses to use any without national approval documents and approval numbers. He often stays in the pig farm day and night, carefully observing and recording the growth and physiological characteristics of the pigs. By mastering the pigs' growth habits and farrowing pen techniques, he has achieved good results in improving pig breeding and growth. Finally, his pig farming business began to improve.

After the start of autumn this year, the purchase price of live pigs kept rising rapidly, reaching 18.2 yuan per kilogram on the day of the interview. This price is the best market Qin Jun has seen since he began farming pigs. "When the market is good, raise more! When the market is bad, raise less! I don't follow the crowd. The market changes constantly, so I will honestly work hard on management and strive to maximize returns." With a farmer's perspective, Qin Jun persists in his dream of becoming prosperous through pig farming.

His story inspires those around him, and everyone looks at him with approval. "A disabled person can run a pig farm so well and develop it to such a scale; that is truly rare in the pig farming industry," said Xiao Zhang, who came to sell feed. "Qin Jun is a very filial son. In his situation, bringing his elderly mother to live with him and support her is truly not easy. I greatly admire a good man like him!"

Qin Jun's family is poor, his left arm is disabled, and because he is busy all day raising pigs to escape poverty and become prosperous, he is still unmarried. "I want to use Sanmenxia Daily to advertise myself. I am firm in my will to become prosperous through hard work. If anyone around you knows a suitable young woman, you can introduce her to me. I won't let her do any of the pig farming work at all." Extremely optimistic about life, Qin Jun expressed his wish.

With the live pig market enjoying good conditions this year, the pigs Qin Jun raises will surely sell for a good price, the pig farm will have no problem turning things around, and the family's escape from poverty before the end of the year is just around the corner.

Most townships in Shanzhou District are located in arid mountainous areas, and poverty alleviation and development there lacks "money," "capable people" and "technology." Yet basing efforts on local realities, using industrial projects to drive poverty alleviation, and making full use of resources to sing the "song of local specialties" is becoming the most effective tool for the whole district in its tough battle against poverty.

Qin Jun is a typical example of escaping poverty through industry. Although disabled, he refuses to lag behind and constantly strives to improve himself. He holds fast to his dream of becoming prosperous, devotes himself wholeheartedly to studying pig farming techniques, and runs his pig farm thrivingly, which is truly admirable.

The power of example is endless. It is hoped that Qin Jun's story can give some inspiration to poor people striving to escape poverty and become prosperous, and that they will then take action and catch up with and surpass the advanced.