Jiaocheng farmers return home to start businesses, taking root in mountain villages to develop new-style aquaculture

Here the mountains stretch on and on, and springs murmur in the valleys. Dozens of loach ponds lie quietly in the valley, and loach of all sizes leap from the water now and then, adding bursts of vitality to the quiet mountain village... On May 23, at the "Taiwan loach" breeding base of Jiuqi Ecological Agriculture in Qianlu Village, Yangzhong Town, Jiaocheng District, several aquaculture technicians were cultivating more than 700,000 loach fry to be sold to Gutian. "After three years of technical research, the Taiwan loach bred at the base now meets the conditions for large-scale supply to the market." The joy of returning entrepreneur Huang Yufu was written all over his face.

Speaking of his path to entrepreneurship, Huang Yufu was full of emotion. Now in his 40s, he is a native of Jiaocheng. "In 2012, when I was working in Shenzhen, by a chance occasion, a friend led me to visit a farm near the construction site. When I heard that farming loach could earn twenty or thirty thousand yuan per mu, I was immediately drawn in." Huang Yufu said.

"Such a good rural business idea, why not give it a try?" After careful consideration, Huang Yufu had the idea of starting his own business. Afterwards, he took time to travel to Guangdong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other places to begin on-site inspections of loach fry breeding bases. When he saw that many loach breeding bases were thriving, Huang Yufu could no longer contain his inner excitement.

After returning home, he began choosing a site, transferring land and digging ponds. Soon, more than 50 mu of land was transferred into Huang Yufu's hands. He began testing the waters with local loach farming. "The good mountain ecological environment and excellent water quality give Qianlu Village uniquely favorable breeding conditions, so the loach raised this way is delicious and has an excellent taste." He said.

The dream was far from reality. In 2013, just as the loach he had worked so hard to raise was about to reach the market, a sudden outbreak of "water mold disease" turned a year of Huang Yufu's efforts into nothing because of a lack of technology. Through this experience, Huang Yufu realized the importance of mastering technology. So in 2014, he specially hired loach breeding technical experts from Guangzhou to provide on-site guidance, and he himself also kept learning breeding techniques through the internet and books, and introduced a new variety, "Taiwan loach."

"Compared with traditional local loach, Taiwan loach has advantages such as fast growth, a low feed conversion ratio and strong disease resistance. Traditional loach must be farmed for 2 years, while Taiwan loach, after crossbreeding and years of selective breeding, can reach the market in 4 months of farming, greatly shortening the breeding cycle." While recounting his entrepreneurial experience, Huang Yufu introduced us to his large Taiwan loach. This kind of loach weighs more than 3 or 4 liang, has a body length of 16 to 20 cm, and is four to five times the size of ordinary loach. In terms of meat quality and taste, it is also more delicious than local loach and has high nutritional value.

After 4 years of exploration, the loach breeding base welcomed a "big harvest" this year, and is expected to supply about 40 million Taiwan loach fry. Huang Yufu told reporters that the output benefits of Taiwan loach farming are far superior to traditional farmland production projects. Many farmers around the town had previously chosen to go to Guangdong, Jiangsu and other places to buy fry. As their fry supply base's loach fry fully mature and reach the market, it can be anticipated that this high-yield, high-quality fry breeding and supply channel will drive local villagers onto a path of profitable aquaculture. At present, they also take loach farming as the core project, further developing Mindong goat and colorful pheasant farming and blueberry and cherry planting, and exploring a cooperative form to attract and mobilize more villagers to join the ranks of profitable agricultural production.