A Farmer Woman in Qinzhou, Guangxi Gets Rich by Raising Snakes and Leads Villagers to Increase Their Income
A tiny sky holds a big dream; a heavy shell wraps a light longing... Li Zihong, head of the Wolong Breeding Entrepreneurship Incubation Base in Qinzhou City, has carved out a path to prosperity through snake farming over the years, driven by tireless entrepreneurial spirit and unyielding willpower.
Li Zihong often says: "Getting rich alone does not count as getting rich; only when everyone is rich is it truly prosperity." Since 2010, she has founded Guangxi's first non-public special breeding technology training school, opened snake artificial domestication technology training classes, and imparted her snake-farming skills to trainees without reservation, truly driving and helping more people to achieve prosperity through scientific breeding.
The Road to Prosperity: A Small Vegetable Farmer Builds a Snake Farm from Scratch
From a small vegetable farmer in the 1990s to the head of a breeding farm with a total area of 216 mu (including branch farms); from a farm head to a snake-farming expert who has helped more than 3,000 people start snake-farming businesses; from an ordinary woman to a national outstanding individual in employment and entrepreneurship... Li Zihong's road to prosperity vividly illustrates what "dreams never cease, striving never stops" means, with every step a testament to sweat and dedication.
In March 2015, the entrepreneurship incubation base of Qinzhou Wolong Breeding Co., Ltd., founded by Li Zihong, was officially established with the help of the Qinzhou City Employment Service Center. It covers a total land area of 203.5 mu and is located in Chaping Village, Liujia Village Committee, Dongchang Town, Qinzhou Port Area.
Today, the base has built a total of 9,000 sq m of commercial snake breeding houses (600 rooms in total) available for resident enterprises. Currently, 20 households have moved in, using 300 rooms, with more than 36,600 snakes in stock. Based on current market prices, the total output value of the live snakes in stock is estimated at about 4.74 million yuan. The base also supports 40 farmer households in special breeding, producing 907 tons of commercial snakes annually, with an average net income increase of 159,000 yuan per household, delivering remarkable results in boosting farmers' incomes.
Rising Fame: Cooperation with Foreign Companies in the Pipeline
Li Zihong is known for her love of snakes. From morning to night every day, she deals with snakes, and she has developed a real knack for snake farming. "I start feeding the snakes from 5 to 7 in the morning, and it is best not to go past 9 a.m." She speaks fluently about the ways of snake farming. "However, through observation, we have found that different types of snakes have different requirements for temperature, humidity, feeding time and sleep time, so we must adapt to the time and local conditions."
In 2000, the Qinzhou Yuanhong Breeding Farm she founded was engaged in the breeding and sales of cobras, five-paced pit vipers, tiger frogs and more. "During the breeding process, I was bitten twice by five-paced pit vipers." Even when talking about these rather frightening experiences, Li Zihong still smiles. "'If you often walk along the river, how can you keep your shoes dry?' People who raise snakes are not afraid of these things."
At present, the Wolong Breeding Entrepreneurship Incubation Base mainly engages in snake and frog breeding and seedling cultivation. Its meat snakes are sold as far away as Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and other places. When conditions are further ripe, it will build comprehensive deep-processing operations with an annual output of 10,000 tons of snake wine and 10,000 tons of dried snake, developing and marketing snake wine, snake gall, snake venom and more.
Li Zihong told reporters that in January this year, a Japanese company specializing in deep-processed snake products came looking for their snake farm, hoping to cooperate in the future. "We are still considering it. Extending the industrial chain of snake farming can improve the economic benefits of the entire industry."
Not Forgetting Roots: Leading Surrounding Villagers to Prosperity
Qinzhou Yuanhong Special Breeding Farm has successively founded the Yuanhong Special Breeding Technology Training School and the Yuanhong Special Breeding Science Popularization Demonstration Base, holding a total of 30 training sessions and training 1,500 people, with trainees coming from all over the country. Since its establishment, the Yuanhong Special Breeding Science Popularization Demonstration Base has directly or indirectly helped more than 3,000 people achieve entrepreneurship and employment, and the vast majority have already reached prosperity and a moderately comfortable life.
In February 2015, Li Zihong won the "Second Touching Qinzhou Figure" award. She has also received honorary titles such as "National Advanced Individual in Entrepreneurship and Employment" issued by the State Council, autonomous region-level "Woman Capable in the 'Double Learning, Double Comparing' Campaign", Qinzhou City "Pacesetter in Women's Contributions", Qinzhou City "March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter", and Qinzhou City "May 1st Labor Medal".
"Getting rich alone does not count as getting rich; only when everyone is rich is it truly prosperity." This is a saying Li Zihong often repeats, and it is no empty promise. The Wolong Breeding Entrepreneurship Incubation Base contracts farmers' land, pays land contracting fees to farming households each year according to contract, and supports 40 surrounding households that have lost sea access and land as well as unemployed farmers in developing snake breeding, leading surrounding farmers to prosperity and a moderately comfortable life through special breeding.