Dong Zhengqiang Invests 12 Million Yuan in Stone Frog Farming, Leading Villagers to Prosper Together
In 2013, with the completion of the Hangzhou-Ruili Expressway and the Fanhuan Road, Dong Zhengqiang of Taohuayuan Village, Wuluo Town, Songtao Autonomous County, relying on the pristine natural environment of Fanjing Mountain and his mature technical experience, returned to his hometown to farm stonefrogs, leading the villagers onto a path to prosperity through specialized farming.
"Stonefrogsare not only delicious but also highly valued for their medicinal properties. Because they contain vitamin E, zinc, selenium and other elements, they help with growth and development and prevent osteoporosis..." Recently, Dong Zhengqiang was introducing the living habits and culinary value of stone frogs to visitors at his imitation-ecological stone frog breeding base.
According to reports, the base introduced 1,500 pairs of breeding frogs in 2013, and has now grown to more than 200,000. At present, there are over 7,000 jin of breeding frogs, the largest of which can reach about one jin in weight. This year, 5,000 jin of finished frogs can be marketed, generating 600,000 yuan in revenue. By next year, they can be marketed on a large scale, with annual output reaching 50,000 jin. Calculated at 120 yuan per jin, the annual output value can reach 6 million yuan. Looking at the lively "money-making frogs" in the ponds, Dong Zhengqiang could hardly conceal his joy.
The village party secretary said: "Most tourists visiting the Taohuayuan scenic area come to Dong Zhengqiang's stone frog base. Some come to buy frogs to cook at nearby farmhouse restaurants, and some come to admire the frogs."
In 2005, Dong Zhengqiang, then in his early 30s, was forced by the pressure of life to leave his hometown and work elsewhere, becoming a technician at a stone frog breeding base in Lishui, Zhejiang. At the stone frog breeding base in Lishui, he got up at 7 o'clock every day to disinfect frog ponds, feed the frogs, change the water... He alone handled the work of more than 60 frog ponds. The boss thought highly of him and often sent him out for technical training on frog farming. He also seized this rare opportunity, studied diligently, and soon became a technician at the base, with a monthly salary of 7,000 yuan.
In 2013, seeing the very good development prospects of his hometown, he resolutely quit his job and returned home to start a business.
"When I went to the county animal husbandry bureau to apply for an investment of 12 million yuan to establish a cooperative, the staff once reminded me to consider it carefully." Dong Zhengqiang said that he learned from the city and county animal husbandry bureaus that at present 29 stone frog farming cooperatives in Tongren City had all failed. But this did not stop his confidence in starting a business. As an experienced farmer, he believed that there were many wild stone frogs in the small streams of Taohuayuan Village, and that the uniquely advantageous ecological environment would surely make frog farming successful.
"The year before last, due to my negligence, more than 1,000 pairs of breeding frogs died in 6 days, causing a direct economic loss of more than 100,000 yuan." Dong Zhengqiang told this writer that stone frogs are very demanding about their living environment and are suitable for survival at an altitude of more than 1,000 m. Even with water quality as pristine as that of Taohuayuan, one cannot be careless. The pH of the water must be tested regularly, and the frog ponds must be disinfected regularly.
After that painful lesson, Dong Zhengqiang became even more cautious, spending most of his time by the frog ponds, observing the dynamics of breeding frogs, adult frogs, and young frogs in each pond. Previously he tested the pH of the water once a day, but changed it to twice; he disinfected the frog ponds once every other day, but changed it to disinfecting the frog ponds every day. He also bought a large number of books on stone frog farming to study the living habits of stone frogs, looked up some frog farming knowledge online, and often consulted his mentor far away in Zhejiang. "Farming stone frogs is a technical job, and you must be meticulous and not careless at all. For example, small frogs must be fed larvae; if they are fed adult insects, they cannot swallow them. Young frogs must also be fed at a fixed spot in a certain corner; if the location is suddenly changed, they cannot find the feeding spot... This is the reason why many farmers raising frogs for the first time cause large numbers of young frogs to die." When talking about frog farming experience, Dong Zhengqiang spoke fluently and with great confidence.
While farming stone frogs, Dong Zhengqiang also raised yellow mealworms. Yellow mealworms are not only delicious but also highly nutritious, with a protein content of 64%. They are not only the "grain" of stone frogs but also a "delicacy" on the tables of some hotels. At present, the base produces 20,000 jin of adult insects annually. Calculated at 15 yuan per jin, yellow mealworms can generate 300,000 yuan in revenue a year.
Dong Zhengqiang said that he wants to use his mature experience to form a stone frog industry chain in the village, provide breeding frogs and technology to villagers free of charge, and drive more than 100 households of villagers to join the cooperative. Now, 8 households of villagers have already participated in frog farming under his leadership.