Raising loaches in rice paddies helps farmers in Sanjiao Township, Jinxiu County, Laibin City, Guangxi, get rich

"Look, my 0.6-mu paddy field grows rice and also raises loaches, so I can earn an extra income." On July 7, Huang Tongfei, a villager from Liupai Tun, Jiajiang Village Committee, Sanjiao Township, Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, excitedly told reporters that when raising loaches in rice paddies, he does not have to pay for materials or fry himself, and management is not laborious either. Growing one field brings two incomes, which is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.

Raising loaches in rice paddies was first introduced as a farming model by Xin Village Tun of the Jiajiang Village Committee in Sanjiao Township, and later gradually spread to the surrounding Liupai Tun. It is reported that after villagers from Xin Village Tun went out to work and learned about this project suitable for their hometown's development, and after investigation and with the push from local village committee cadres, they decided to make use of the unique ecological environment to develop and promote the rice-paddy loach breeding industry, opening a new model of ecological farming and breeding. At the same time, the tun received 390,000 fry provided free of charge by the city and county animal husbandry bureaus, benefiting 15 local poor households.

In Huang Tongfei's field, the reporter saw that the contiguous experimental rice fields were growing well, and the released loaches were happily darting about foraging. Loaches not only help loosen the soil and aerate it, but their droppings can also serve as fertilizer, providing nutrients for rice growth; the rice also provides loaches with a growing environment for habitat, shade and food, so it can be described as "mutual benefit and win-win."

The project mainly adopts a "base + cooperative + farmer" breeding model. The cooperative provides feed to farmers and is responsible for organizing external sales. It is expected that they can be sold in 3 months, with a per-mu yield of 300-500 jin. Based on an estimated market price of 20 yuan per jin, each mu can increase income by 6,000-10,000 yuan.

Raising loaches in rice paddies has opened a new path for industrial poverty alleviation in the Dayao Mountains. "We only plant one season of rice here. Now raising loaches in the rice paddies can bring double income, so poverty alleviation should not be far off." Huang Tongfei is full of confidence about escaping poverty and becoming rich.