Disabled but strong-willed, he carved out a path to prosperity through farming
He refused to bow to fate. Though disabled, he founded a free-range chicken farm through his own hard work and his family's encouragement
He studied diligently, learning while practicing, constantly improving the free-range chicken breed and crossbreeding to develop the Lemon Native Black Chicken
He has a kind heart. On his farm, he hires people with disabilities, hoping to help them achieve prosperity together
He is Guo Hongbo, who has a Level 3 hearing disability, from Group 3, Baoquan Village, Changheyuan Township, Anyue County
Refusing to bow to fate: setbacks in odd jobs led him to start a farm and open a path to prosperity
On January 6, when the reporter met Guo Hongbo, he was making his rounds on the farm. His father had to shout his name twice at full volume before he heard, and he wiped his hands on his clothes a few times before walking over. Guo Hongbo is short and slight in build.
In 2009, before finishing high school, Guo Hongbo went out to work, but after a few months, he either could not find anyone to hire him or was mocked by coworkers. Feeling inferior, he chose to return home and wait for work. In July of that same year, Guo Hongbo went to Suining to participate in the Special Olympics and met Jia Yu, a person with disabilities. "Raising chickens can solve your own living problems and also help solve the food and clothing problems of some people with disabilities," Jia Yu's words struck a chord with Guo Hongbo. He spent a year learning farming techniques from Jia Yu, and after returning home he established the Anyue County Hongbo Lemon Native Black Chicken Farming Professional Cooperative.
After several years of effort, Guo Hongbo's farm now covers more than 60 mu, divided into three areas for breeding stock chickens, laying hens and commercial chickens. At its peak, it housed more than 10,000 chickens at one time. In 2015, the farm sold more than 20,000 commercial chickens, more than 30,000 chicks and more than 100,000 eggs, with average annual net income reaching more than 200,000 yuan.
Diligent study and crossbreeding: breeding stock chickens to cultivate an independent brand with brisk sales
In the courtyard of Guo Hongbo's home, the clear chirping of chicks could be heard from time to time, and the air conditioner outside the hatchery whirred. Guo Hongbo said: "Although the black chicken's meat quality is very good, sales are not good, because most people do not accept the color of its feathers, especially for family celebrations or gifts."
In order to open up sales channels, Guo Hongbo studied and researched online while farming, and in 2013 conducted a full year of crossbreeding experiments. In early 2014, he successfully crossbred black chickens with small-footed chickens to develop a new free-range chicken breed. This new breed, named the Lemon Native Black Chicken, inherited the meat quality of the black chicken and the appearance of the small-footed chicken. To ensure breed stability, all chicks are hatched from his own eggs.
At the same time, Guo Hongbo also continuously innovated his feeding methods, adding garlic and lemon to the feed to improve the chickens' disease resistance and meat quality. Now, his commercial chickens are in short supply.
A kind heart: helping and supporting people with disabilities, relying on self-reliance to improve their lives
Currently, the exterior wall tiles are being laid on Guo Hongbo's new house, and a brand-new three-story Western-style building stands out prominently.
Guo Hongbo has not forgotten his original intention in starting the business. He has long employed 4 people with disabilities to work on the farm. Among them, An Weiyong, who helps sell chickens, cannot speak and previously made a living by collecting scraps. Guo Yanping, who is responsible for feeding chickens and collecting eggs, has a physical disability and is already over 50 years old. He said: "I am very grateful to Hongbo for providing us with employment opportunities. He never treats us badly. We can earn more than 10,000 yuan a year, much better than farming crops."
In addition to hiring people with disabilities to help with the work, Guo Hongbo insists on buying corn, lemons and garlic in the village, which effectively solves the villagers' problem of selling their grain. He also sells his chicks at low prices to nearby small-scale farmers and some farming households to raise.
When mentioning Guo Hongbo, nearby villagers give a thumbs-up, and most of them hope his farming path will become smoother and smoother.