Miniature fragrant pig farming leads farmers in Tongzi, Zunyi onto the road to prosperity

Li Guanghong and his wife, villagers from Songkan Town, Tongzi County, returned home to start a business three times, took out a loan to build a farm covering about 8 mu, and expect the breeding sow herd to reach 100 head in the second half of the year, with 800 commercial fragrant pigs on hand, achieving an output value of 900,000 yuan——

The May sunshine was bright, and at the Hongyang Fragrant Pig Specialized Breeding Farm in Yanyi Village, Songkan Town, Tongzi County, groups of miniature fragrant pigs foraged leisurely on the slopes around the pens, while rows of regular small pen compartments housed sleeping sows.

Around 12 noon, Li Guanghong and his wife, dressed as "pig herders," poured some cooked feed into the troughs of the pigpens. Hearing the sound, the surrounding miniature fragrant pigs immediately crowded over, scrambling for the food.

"In just a few months, these dozens of fragrant pigs will be ready for market." Looking at the miniature fragrant pigs growing fatter and sturdier by the day, Li Guanghong and his wife wore contented smiles.

Li Guanghong, the "pig herder," was once a migrant worker drifting from place to place. The couple worked away from home for more than 20 years, and twice returned home to start businesses, both of which ended in failure. The savings from years of work were used up, and the villagers mocked them, saying that Li Guanghong "should not take on a job without the right tools for it."

The turning point came in 2014.

That year, Li Guanghong was visiting a friend's home in Qijiang, Chongqing. Under his friend's guidance, he inspected a fragrant pig farm in Qijiang, and the couple once again independently developed the idea of returning home to start a business. But at the thought of their first two failures, the couple again felt uneasy and hesitated. When staff at the Songkan Town Agricultural Machinery Service Center learned of Li Guanghong and his wife's plans, they came to their home to encourage them and gave strong technical support, strengthening their confidence in raising fragrant pigs.

"We decided to try once more. Seeing how well other people's fragrant pigs sell, I want to be a good 'pig herder' too." Li Guanghong was full of confidence.

During the 2014 Spring Festival, with the help of town and village officials, Li Guanghong took out a bank loan to build a farm covering about 8 mu, and went to Qijiang, Hechuan and other places in Chongqing to buy 25 breeding pigs, investing 200,000 yuan to set up a farm of his own. Today, Li Guanghong's farm pens hold 35 breeding pigs and more than 100 commercial fragrant pigs on hand. Li Guanghong said that through self-breeding and self-raising, the breeding sow herd is expected to reach 100 head in the second half of the year, with 800 commercial fragrant pigs on hand, achieving an output value of 900,000 yuan.

"The pigs are all raised in pens, but our fragrant pigs are raised free-range." With one sentence, Li Guanghong revealed the "secret" of fragrant pig farming.

"Free-range fragrant pigs have meat that is more fragrant and chewier than ordinary pork, and they fetch a higher price." Li Guanghong did the math for the reporter: a fragrant pig weighs an average of 20 kg at market, and at a market price of 70 yuan to 80 yuan per kg, one fragrant pig can sell for about 1,500 yuan.

Seeing the good prospects for fragrant pig development, the Party committee and government of Songkan Town guided the trend and adopted a "farm + farming households + cooperative" model, in which the cooperative provides each disadvantaged household with 2 sows free of charge. After the sows give birth, the cooperative buys the piglets back in a unified way and sells them to Chongqing, Zunyi and other places. Calculating on the basis of each sow producing 2 litters per year and 10 piglets per litter, 2 sows can bring nearly 40 commercial fragrant pigs to market in a year, achieving an output value of nearly 60,000 yuan.

"According to the current poverty alleviation standard, disadvantaged families participating in fragrant pig farming need only one year to escape poverty. Going forward, we must actively seek industrial poverty alleviation projects and funds from higher authorities, direct them toward specialized crop and livestock farmers, truly blaze a new path suited to Songkan's industrial poverty alleviation, and lead more fellow villagers to increase their incomes and prosper," said Wang Yi, Party secretary of Songkan Town, in a firm tone.

Industrial poverty alleviation is the most direct and effective vehicle in the battle against poverty. At present, relying on the leadership of large specialized crop and livestock farmers and industrial cooperation, many returning migrant workers, with the support of the Party committee and government of Songkan Town, have joined the crop and livestock industries and are advancing step by step on the road to moderate prosperity.