Raising chickens under the trees helps farmers onto a new path to ecological prosperity
Recently, a reporter saw at the planting and breeding base of the Ouquan Fruit Professional Cooperative in Hongshan Village, Jianchi Subdistrict, that branches were laden with golden-orange sweet mandarin oranges, and workers were busy picking them; beneath the sweet mandarin orange trees, flocks of native chickens could be seen everywhere, leisurely scratching the soil, pecking at insects and pecking at grass.
"More than 10 years ago, with my family's help, I contracted this forest land of over 350 mu and planted Chinese bayberry, sweet mandarin oranges, tea and moso bamboo, one after another," introduced Xiang Caimei, head of the cooperative. In 2012, she also used the space under the fruit trees to raise native chickens. In 2015, the base's sales of Chinese bayberry, sweet mandarin oranges, moso bamboo, tea and native chickens were expected to reach more than 700,000 yuan.
Xiang Caimei told the reporter that at the time, because she had to look after her son attending school in the city, she moved from Xingyuan Village, Longnan Township, her hometown, into the city. At first, she chose to work in a factory, but factory work was not easy; she left early and returned late every day, making it hard to care for her family. "Why not do a small business?" suggested her husband Xiang Linmei, a forestry technician. "How could a rural woman like me be cut out for business? I'm better off doing farm work," Xiang Caimei replied. It was precisely these words from Xiang Caimei that gave her husband Xiang Linmei an idea; he thought, why not make use of his own expertise and, after work hours, help his wife develop an economic forest. The couple hit it off immediately.
So which fruit trees would be highly profitable and have good prospects? Xiang Caimei admitted she could not make up her mind and sought help from her husband again. Xiang Linmei explained that at his work unit he often came across magazines about agricultural knowledge, so when he made suggestions to his wife, he already had a preliminary plan. "The market for Chinese bayberry has always been good, so that was my first choice. At that time, few people in Longquan grew sweet mandarin oranges. I saw in the magazine Lishui Agricultural Science and Technology that sweet mandarin oranges were delicious, sold well and made good money, and I was immediately tempted," Xiang Linmei said with a smile.
In 2003, accompanied by her husband, Xiang Caimei contracted more than 350 mu of forest land in Hongshan Village, Jianchi Subdistrict, starting her road to prosperity by planting fruit trees. She began to rise early and work late every day, personally planting Chinese bayberry, sweet mandarin orange, tea and moso bamboo trees one by one. "The first few years were all about investment, so I hired as few people as possible, and my husband would also come to help on weekends." In this way, with fruit trees as her companions, she lived a "hermit-like" life, carefully cultivating the fruit trees.
"At first I had no experience and lacked knowledge on how to manage fruit trees and prevent and control pests and diseases, so I often asked my husband for advice by phone while working with my hands." It was precisely Xiang Caimei's down-to-earth hard work, willingness to ask for advice and careful tending that let every fruit tree grow strong and healthy.
In 2007, the Chinese bayberry, sweet mandarin orange and other fruit trees finally welcomed their first picking season. Although the fruiting rate in the first year was not high, that year's income still reached more than 50,000 yuan. Having dug up the "first bucket of gold" from fruit tree cultivation, Xiang Caimei felt the joy of harvest through hard work, which further strengthened her confidence and determination to develop an economic forest.
The hillsides were covered with fruit trees heavy with fruit, and under the trees native chickens gathered in flocks, some chasing and fighting, some standing on branches "craning their necks and crowing"... As Xiang Caimei clucked "cluck, cluck, cluck" a few times, several hundred chickens immediately gathered from all directions. This was another scenic sight at the planting and breeding base.
Speaking of this new undertaking, Xiang Caimei said with a smile, "This is also something he taught me." The "he" she referred to naturally meant her husband Xiang Linmei. "I am her military strategist," Xiang Linmei introduced with a smile. "I happened to learn about raising chickens under the trees from an agricultural breeding program on TV. I checked online and found that many people across the country were already doing it, so I brought the new idea up with her."
No sooner said than done, Xiang Caimei brought in workers to build 3 chicken coops on the open space in the forest land. "I have experience raising chickens," Xiang Caimei introduced. To make the chicken meat taste good, she tried to extend the raising time as much as possible, raising two batches a year, with more than 600 chickens per batch. Because the forest land environment was good and pollution was low, she did not spend much effort on raising the chickens. Every day at dawn, she opened the coop doors and let them out to range, and for fear the chickens would go hungry, she fed them rice at fixed times and fixed places.
Now, the chickens she raises have become well known locally. Before each batch is ready for market, it is already reserved early by some local merchants, and many local residents also come to buy them after hearing about them. During the interview, a local resident drove to Xiang Caimei's planting and breeding base specifically to buy native chickens. "The chicken here is fragrant, chewy and very good for making soup. My family all likes it. Today I plan to buy two more," the resident told the reporter, saying this was the third time they had come specially to buy chickens here.
"The chickens I raise run around the orchard every day and eat naturally growing grass and insects in the soil. This not only saves a certain amount of grain, but the chicken meat is also very good, so the price it sells for is higher. At the same time, chicken manure is the best organic fertilizer for fruit trees. Through this model of raising chickens under the trees over these years, the yields of Chinese bayberry and sweet mandarin oranges have become higher, and the fruit has become sweeter," Xiang Caimei said, describing her recipe for prosperity, with joy written all over her face.
Xiang Caimei said that although she is a bit tired every day, she is very happy to see her efforts gradually bearing fruit, and she will continue to work hard with her family's help, walking well this road to prosperity based on an ecological circular model.