Deep-mountain pig farmer opens up a road to prosperity with mobile 4G
Yang Chunhua is a major pig farmer in the southwestern border area of Jingzhou. Pig traders used to be his gods, but now his pig-farming "career" has changed because of a small 4G phone.
The village where Yang Chunhua lives sits amid rolling mountains and dangerously high roads. Because of its remote location, with many mountains and little farmland, quite a few villagers make a living by raising pigs. Before the mobile 4G network reached the village, Yang Chunhua, like other pig farmers, spent all day circling around a few pens of pigs. His daily task was to feed the pigs, then look for information on breeding stock, sales and so on, running around endlessly, and in winter he still had to brave the cold wind to find pig traders.
"In the past I had to go to town to ask about market prices and arrange deals. The round-trip fare alone was more than 30 yuan, and if I ran into a crooked pig trader, it was very hard to sell at a good price." Talking about his years of pig-farming experience, Yang Chunhua poured out his grievances.
At the beginning of this year, after mobile technicians came to the door for an on-site survey, they replaced wired broadband with 4G-CPE equipment and connected Yang Chunhua to the 4G network. "With this mobile 4G wireless broadband, whether the pig market is good or bad, how much pigs cost today, how much they cost yesterday, is all clear at a glance online. It really helps farmers a lot," Yang Chunhua said with deep feeling. In the past, whenever a pig got sick he was frightened and at a loss; now, as long as he describes the symptoms online, many peers and experts can help "answer his questions and clear up his doubts."
After getting connected to the 4G network, Yang Chunhua could accurately understand fluctuations in the pig price market through the internet anytime and anywhere, and choose the right time to sell live pigs, so that they fetched a good price. "Take the last batch sent to market, for example. This time sales rose 20% compared with the previous time."
The 4G network not only has wide coverage, but is also fast. Normally, Yang Chunhua also checks the prices of corn and soybean meal online and asks about pig-farming techniques. "By referring to online quotes, the feed cost per pig can be reduced by 10%." Yang Chunhua said that online he also got in touch with the Caijiapo live pig market in Hunan and several nearby large meat-packing plants, bypassing pig traders and selling live pigs directly. Sales channels have opened up, and there is also a guarantee.
When he first signed up for 4G broadband, Yang Chunhua was very nervous, worried that the fees would be too expensive and more than he could afford. Now he has found that after using it for nearly a year, the fees are fairly cheap. Mobile offers farmers all kinds of discounted package deals, and even comes to the door to teach everyone hand by hand how to use the network economically. "I even recommended that several villagers in our village sign up for mobile 4G broadband."
With the 4G network, scientific breeding, lower costs and broader sales channels, both production and sales are thriving. "No need to worry about sales, market prices are rising, and this year's pig-farming income is sure to be booming." Talking about this year's earnings, Yang Chunhua showed a smile full of expectation.