Raising chickens in sugarcane fields: low cost, high profit, and farmers are reaping the rewards

Nowadays, in Changdun Village, Siyang Town, Shangsi County, the name Shi Bogao is known to everyone, because he is not only the king of under-forest chicken farming, but also the guide who leads the masses in developing under-forest chicken farming and getting rich together.

Shangsi County has many forests and many sugarcane fields, with excellent conditions for developing livestock and poultry breeding, and huge potential for developing chicken farming under forests and in sugarcane fields. As a native born and raised here, Shi Bogao deeply understands the principle that one plot of land sustains its own people. So with a “keen eye for a treasure,” he recognized the broad development space and bright prospects of under-forest and sugarcane-field chicken farming, and relying closely on the leadership of the leading enterprise Shangsi Fengxiang Livestock and Poultry Co., Ltd., he vigorously developed under-forest and sugarcane-field chicken farming. Not only did he become rich himself, but he also led the surrounding masses to develop under-forest chicken farming, increasing their incomes, and their days are prosperous and flourishing.

Shi Bogao began raising chickens on the mountain in 2010, and what he raised was even the rare “precious fowl”——the Jiuyuan Black Chicken introduced from Sichuan. Due to problems such as sales channels and disease, the costs of promotion, feed, medicine, transport, and labor were very high, and he ultimately fell into loss. Because of insufficient funds and no guarantee of technical support, Shi Bogao found himself in a difficult position, struggling to move forward.

In 2011, the Shangsi County Party Committee and County Government proposed the goal of building a base for 10 million under-forest chickens, and introduced the national agricultural industrialization leading enterprise Fengxiang Group to establish Shangsi Fengxiang Livestock and Poultry Co., Ltd. in Shangsi County. After the company settled in Shangsi, it adopted the industrialized one-stop cooperation model of “company + base + farmers + market” to develop under-forest chicken farming. The company was responsible for supplying chicks and feed to breeders on credit, providing full technical services and epidemic prevention guidance, and purchasing products back at guaranteed prices. This gave a “shot of stimulant” to Shi Bogao, who had no technology and no capital. In October of that year, he signed a chicken farming agreement with Fengxiang Company and became one of the first batch of breeders in Shangsi to cooperate with Fengxiang Company in developing under-forest chicken farming. Shi Bogao and his brothers had a total of 300 mu of forest land and 55 mu of sugarcane land. After signing the agreement with Fengxiang Company, he raised nearly 80,000 yuan in self-funded capital and built 8 chicken houses on his own forest land, raising 35,000 broiler chickens. After they were sent to market, calculating carefully, he earned more than 2 yuan per bird.

In 2012, the County Party Committee and County Government increased support for the development of under-forest chicken farming and issued preferential support policies. Not only was the construction of under-forest chicken farming sheds subsidized, but the government would also give rewards to those who raised well and on a large scale. Shi Bogao saw the opportunity to expand the scale, raised funds to expand 14 chicken houses, bringing the chicken farm's chicken house area to 4,200 sq m and reaching a rearing capacity of 150,000 broiler chickens per year. With the scale expanded and more chickens raised, Shi Bogao worried that his forest land could not satisfy the flock's activity, so he set his sights on the sugarcane fields next to the chicken houses. Under the guidance of the County Aquatic and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau and Shangsi Fengxiang Livestock and Poultry Co., Ltd., he tried raising broiler chickens on the sugarcane land, and just like that, this attempt let him taste the rewards. Chickens raised in sugarcane fields grew well and grew fast, while the sugarcane fields had fewer weeds, fewer pests and diseases, and needed less fertilizer, reducing costs, truly achieving two benefits at once. In 2012, Shi Bogao raised 75,000 chickens under forests and in sugarcane fields, had already sent 54,000 to market, with an output value of 1.89 million yuan and a profit of 135,000 yuan. The two brothers each earned more than 60,000 yuan, with a per capita net income of 20,000 yuan, far higher than the income level of local farmers.

Shi Bogao's development of under-forest and sugarcane-field chicken farming not only increased his income, but also led 15 farming households in surrounding villages such as Changdun, Yuxue, and Yihe to develop under-forest and sugarcane-field chicken farming, with average per capita output value exceeding 20,000 yuan, gradually forming an under-forest and sugarcane-field chicken farming area with an annual market output of 1 million birds.