Under-forest ecological chicken farming opens up a path to prosperity for farmers in Qingcheng, Gansu

On May 9, Luo Jianhua was all smiles after having just delivered 1000 under-forest free-range chickens to a hotel. He said: "Last year I earned 100,000 yuan from selling free-range chickens alone!"

Luo Jianhua lives in the Xiongjiamiao Office area of Qingcheng County. When it comes to under-forest free-range chicken farming, he is quite the expert. In Qingcheng County, there are many other farming households like Luo Jianhua who have escaped poverty and prospered by raising under-forest free-range chickens.

Relying on its abundant forest land and orchard resources, Qingcheng County follows a large-scale, industrialized operation model, and by establishing new-style "family farms" and cooperatives, it vigorously develops under-forest economy throughout the county, further opening up channels for farmers to increase their incomes and prosper.

E Xiangbin, who lives in Heyuan Village, Nanzhuang Township, developed under-forest farming on 10 mu of forest land in 2014 with government support. After the first batch of free-range chickens was raised successfully, he further expanded the scale the following year, marketing 10,000 birds and earning a net profit of 100,000 yuan. Now, the free-range chickens raised by E Xiangbin include several breeds such as the Barred Plymouth Rock and the Silkie, and his eggs are also in short supply. He has also added WeChat and online sales channels. This year, he plans to market 20,000 free-range chickens, and he has also contracted 30 mu of water reservoir for fish farming, actively developing circular ecological agriculture.

Qingcheng County has actively guided and supported farmers, adopting industrialized development models such as "company + base + farmer" and "cooperative + farmer," providing farmers with seedlings and feed, taking responsibility for technical training and guidance for farmers and for guaranteed-price buyback of products, thereby helping to solve farmers' problems of lacking farming techniques and market sales. This model has effectively reduced farmers' market risks in raising chickens, ensuring that income growth from chicken farming is secured.

In addition, Qingcheng County conducts farming technique training for farmers through science and technology promotion projects and skills training projects run by departments such as poverty alleviation and human resources and social security. At the same time, it has established a technical service network and specially set up an under-forest chicken farming technical expert group to provide door-to-door guidance services and help farmers solve technical problems encountered in the production process.

In Nanzhuangyuan Village and Fodianwan Village of Tuqiao Township, after nearly half a year of free-range rearing, farmers have basically mastered the scientific techniques of under-forest chicken farming and achieved the goal of marketing the birds after 3 months of free-range rearing. According to statistics, Tuqiao Township invested 400,000 yuan in the latter season of 2015 and successively placed 30,000 chicks. By the end of April this year, a total of 20,000 had been marketed, achieving a net profit of 400,000 yuan, averaging more than 20,000 yuan per household.

"The natural conditions here are poor, with forest land everywhere, and growing grain brings low income, so in a drought we lose money. Now the government advocates under-forest chicken farming, and the economic returns are much better than growing crops or going out to work," said Li Shoujun, a farmer, happily.

Under-forest farming is becoming a new path for farmers in Qingcheng County to increase their incomes. Following the approach of building brands, expanding scale, strengthening leading enterprises, and extending the industrial chain, Qingcheng County will explore a "breeding, production, storage, and sales all-in-one" development model, striving to make under-forest free-range chicken farming a leading industry, driving more people to prosper and increase their incomes, and enabling agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry to achieve a pattern of resource sharing, complementary advantages, circular mutual generation, and coordinated development.