Scallop conch farming puts coastal villages in Leizhou, Guangdong on the road to prosperity

In the photo, villagers sort scallop conchs, their smiling faces welcoming a bumper harvest. Photo by reporter Zhong Bangguo

Right now is the peak harvest season for scallop conch in the coastal villages of Leizhou City, Guangdong. Trucks from out of town stream continuously into the Banshui Village Committee in Wushi Town, Leizhou City, to trade seafood with local residents. At present, the purchase prices of local seafood keep climbing. Local residents say happily: intellectual poverty alleviation has made their road to prosperity wider and wider.

Xiayu Village is a coastal natural village under the Banshui Village Committee. Because there are many people and little land, agricultural production conditions are relatively poor, and the economy is relatively backward. In recent years, under the correct guidance of the local Party committee and government, the villagers have vigorously developed mariculture and done a good job with the "ocean article," causing a large number of specialized farming households to emerge in the village. However, restricted by traditional backward ideas, farming technology and sales channels, the local farming industry once fell into difficulty, and some farming households even entertained the idea of “leaving their hometown to work elsewhere.” In 2010, the Leizhou City Health Bureau, in accordance with relevant requirements from higher authorities, stationed a work team in the village to carry out the “dual-to development” work. “In poverty alleviation, first help people's intellect. Only by improving the villagers' farming technology and helping them expand seafood sales channels can we enable them to increase production and income, escape poverty and become prosperous!” The bureau's leaders unified their thinking and understanding, and formulated a scientific intellectual poverty alleviation plan: every year, they invite professors from Guangdong Ocean University to hold 4 free training sessions for the villagers on conch farming and shrimp farming techniques, prompting the villagers to change traditional backward farming techniques and scientifically master advanced farming techniques; at the same time, they help the villagers introduce fine conch seedlings and shrimp seedlings, so that the village's conch seedlings and shrimp seedlings are gradually improved.

“In the past, when I farmed conchs, I did not pay attention to seawater temperature and did not properly grasp the activity patterns of the conch seedlings; after attending technical training, I understood the living environment and activity patterns of the conch seedlings. With careful management, the conch seedlings grew very well, and I enjoyed bumper harvests year after year!” Ding Haizhi, a farming household in the village, told the reporter that last year his scallop conch output was 30,000 jin and his net income was more than 30,000 yuan. This year, the scallop conchs he farms have entered the peak harvest season, with total output expected to reach 50,000 jin and net income of more than 100,000 yuan. According to village officials, the villagers' conch farming industry is developing rapidly. At present, all 200 households in the village farm scallop conch, and the conch farming industry generally sees increases in both production and income. Last year, the village's conch farming industry had an annual net income of more than 6 million yuan, with an average annual net income of more than 30,000 yuan per household. This year, with the help of the stationed poverty alleviation work team, the villagers have expanded seafood sales channels, attracting many out-of-town customers from Hubei, Hunan, Hainan and other places to come for seafood trading, energizing the local seafood market.

On the 12th, the reporter saw in the village that many out-of-town customers drove their trucks to the village entrance to trade seafood with local residents. That day, the purchase price of scallop conch was 2.5/jin. An out-of-town customer surnamed Chen told the reporter that because the scallop conchs farmed by the villagers have high output and delicious meat, they are generally favored by consumers, so he came specially to purchase them here. At present, all the scallop conchs he purchases enter international markets such as Macao, China and Hong Kong, China, and demand for scallop conch exceeds supply. At present, scallop conch trading in the village has entered a climax, with an average daily trading volume of 200,000 jin and daily trading value of more than 400,000 yuan.