A post-90s college graduate returns home to raise pigs, leading villagers onto the road to prosperity

A post-90s college graduate returns home to become a "pig herder"

Leading villagers onto the road to prosperity

In the wave of returning home to start businesses, there are not only migrant workers but also college graduates, civil servants and other talent. Yu Yu, a post-90s college graduate, gave up a civil service job in another region and returned to his hometown to become a farmer, taking up pig farming and fruit growing. Over the past 2 years, he founded an agricultural company and established a family farm, not only realizing his own entrepreneurial dream but also driving villagers to increase their incomes and become prosperous.

Giving up a civil service job to become a "pig herder": a post-90s college graduate returns home to pursue his dream

Today, Yu Yu is the founder of Pengxi County Hongzhi Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd. Recently, a reporter met Yu Yu at Hongzhi Farm in Daoliuxi Village, Gaoping Town, Pengxi County. Tall and sturdy, with skin tanned dark by the sun, Yu Yu inspected the condition of his Cuiguan pears in his orchard, then went into a lush green watermelon field to turn the watermelons. In about 20 more days, the watermelons and Cuiguan pears will both hit the market in large quantities. Yu Yu said he has no worries at all about selling the fruit he grows; the 20 mu of watermelons alone will bring him a net income of more than 60,000 yuan once they hit the market.

In June 2011, after graduating from Sichuan Judicial Police Officers College with a major in investigation technology, Yu Yu took the national unified examination and was admitted as a civil servant in another region. When he returned home for Chinese New Year in 2013, he saw that the village's former muddy paths had become tractor roads, the earthen tile houses had become buildings, and the villagers' quality of life had greatly improved and risen. However, young and middle-aged adults had long been working away from home, and the village was basically all elderly people and children, with not a single decent industry in the whole village capable of driving the people to increase their incomes and become prosperous. Yu Yu decided he should "do something for his hometown."

After thinking it over, Yu Yu decided to go into pig farming. In April 2014, he leased more than 500 mu of land in Groups 5 and 7 of Daoliuxi Village, Gaoping Town, raised 3 million yuan in funds, and registered Pengxi County Hongzhi Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., and established Hongzhi Farm, building pig sheds and planting fruit trees, committing himself to developing pigs and fruit. Now, after more than 2 years of development, Yu Yu's farm has an annual slaughter of 1,100 pigs and an annual output value of more than 3.5 million yuan.

Through active communication, the company also signed contracts with two local enterprises, Gaojin and Nanda, with 95% of the pigs sold to Gaojin and Nanda. "In the second half of the year, I will also purchase a batch of farrowing sows, and the annual slaughter of pigs can reach more than 1,800; on the fruit side, I have now reintroduced the better-quality Cuiguan pear, which will be even more popular in the market," Yu Yu said.

He led the villagers to prosperity and also gave them access to clean energy

"Work half the year, relax half the year, and not only earn wages but also take care of the family." Villager Grandpa Li works on Yu Yu's orchard, pruning branches and bagging fruit, earning a monthly wage of nearly 1,400 yuan. Grandpa Li speaks highly of Yu Yu's return home to start a business.

After becoming prosperous himself, Yu Yu's farm absorbed surrounding farming households to develop about 300 mu of fruit planting and provided farmers with free technical guidance; he also built 1 large biogas digester, supplying daily living gas to more than 50 surrounding farming households, giving them access to clean energy. "By adopting an ecological circular agriculture model, pig manure can both be fermented to produce biogas, and the biogas slurry can irrigate fruit trees, truly achieving ecological, pollution-free operation," Yu Yu said.

Yu Yu told the reporter that his wife has also opened an online shop on Taobao, and the fruit they grow is sold in large quantities through the online shop both within and outside the province. "Now I am just waiting for the department document to be approved. Next, I plan to carry out deep processing of pork products, such as making high-quality sausages and cured meat, to make the industry chain longer." When speaking of the company's future plans, a light shone in Yu Yu's eyes.