A large-scale pigeon farmer shares his experience of getting rich through ecological pigeon farming

"Without your help in times of crisis, the cooperative might have folded long ago, let alone my current business." Recently, gripping the hand of the rural commercial bank staff tightly, Du Tengfei, chairman of the Lixin County Shuangfei Breeding Professional Cooperative, said gratefully. Speaking of his next plans, this lean man was full of confidence, "With the financial support of the rural commercial bank, I plan to transfer another 300 mu of land to build a circular ecological plantation integrating meat pigeon breeding, yellow peach cultivation, grape grafting and green agricultural product processing, upgrading and transforming the current planting cooperative to make it bigger and stronger." As he said this, a look of anticipation appeared on his face.

Shuangfei Cooperative was established in 2011 and was the first cooperative in the county engaged in meat pigeon breeding. The founders, Du Tengfei and his wife, learned meat pigeon breeding techniques in Shenzhen and raised funds themselves to return home and start a business. However, due to underestimating the funds needed for the venture, after an initial investment of 300,000 yuan, the capital chain broke. With the prospects of meat pigeon breeding unclear and no collateral of his own, Du Tengfei had nowhere to turn for a loan, and the farm was about to close. Later, led by the town government, Lixin Rural Commercial Bank got in touch with Shuangfei Cooperative. After detailed visits and investigations, the bank recognized Du Tengfei's character and exclusively issued him a pure credit "golden client" loan of 200,000 yuan, helping the cooperative out of its predicament. Over nearly two years, by providing a credit package of "farmhouse leisure + Yidai Card + Sudaotong", Lixin Rural Commercial Bank cumulatively provided 4.6 million yuan in credit funds to Shuangfei, helping it develop from single meat pigeon breeding into an ecological farm integrating the production of squabs, pigeon eggs, breeding pigeon research and development, and organic fruit and vegetable cultivation.

With the full support of the rural commercial bank, the cooperative has now transferred 300 mu of land and built standardized production pigeon houses of 60,000 sq m, with over 12,000 pairs of breeding pigeons in stock, including fine breeds such as the American White King pigeon, the Danish Silver King pigeon and the Danish Gray King pigeon. To strengthen the cooperative's core competitiveness and build the enterprise's original brand, Lixin Rural Commercial Bank actively contacted institutions such as the Anhui Provincial Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine and the College of Animal Science of Anhui Agricultural University, acting as a bridge for the cooperative and promoting the establishment of technical guidance and cooperative relations between the two sides. As a product research and development base of Anhui Agricultural University, the cooperative's new meat pigeon breeds such as "Shuangfei No. 1" and "Shuangfei No. 2" have been promoted nationwide by the China Meat Pigeon Association due to their high quality and high yield, filling the gap of Anhui Province having no independent meat pigeon brand.

While developing meat pigeon breeding, the cooperative also pioneered an ecological circular farming model, with supporting cultivation of 150 mu of a modern high-yield organic peach demonstration orchard, 100 mu of organic grapes and 260 mu of ecological peanuts, making full use of organic fertilizer from high-temperature fermentation of pigeon manure to grow and produce pollution-free organic peaches, organic grapes and green peanuts. The enterprise has an annual income of 4 million yuan and a net profit of 1.2 million yuan. In recent years, the enterprise has successively won honors including one of the top ten leading enterprises in Anhui Province's meat pigeon industry, vice-chairman unit of the Anhui Province Meat Pigeon Industry Association, and demonstration base for fine breed selection and breeding in Anhui Province's meat pigeon industry, as well as standardized large-scale demonstration farm of Bozhou City. It has helped more than 1,200 farming households across the county prosper, becoming the "leading" enterprise in meat pigeon breeding in the county.