Shaobo duck-farming startup star Wu Deben: Bowing his head and willingly serving as the "duck commander"

    Wu Deben, a resident of Shaobo town, is known as the "leading goose" of Shaobo's waterfowl farming industry thanks to his expertise in raising laying ducks and his warmhearted willingness to help others. Wu Deben has been rated a "model worker" and a "startup star" by the municipal party committee and municipal government, and the Shaobo Waterfowl Farming Association has been rated by the Yangzhou municipal government as an "advanced farmer specialized cooperative economic organization of the whole city," among other titles. 

    Since September 1997, when he began raising laying ducks, Wu Deben, now in his fifties, has devoted himself to studying duck-farming techniques and has mastered a solid set of duck-farming skills. The survival rate of the laying ducks he raises is above 90%, and the egg-laying rate is nearly 100%. At present, Wu Deben raises 80,000 laying ducks a year, with an output value of more than 4.8 million. Since becoming president of the Shaobo Waterfowl Farming Association, he has eagerly helped poor households join the ranks of duck farmers. Farmer He Jianjun had been idle at home since being laid off from a township enterprise in 1999, and life was hard. Seeing others make money raising ducks, he wanted to raise ducks too, but was troubled by a lack of funds. It was Wu Deben who extended a helping hand, helping him arrange a loan, find a site, and buy 1,500 laying ducks. He also taught him hand by hand how to feed the ducks and how to prevent and treat diseases, helped him contact purchasing clients, and market the eggs. Three years later, He Jianjun had grown to raising 5,000 laying ducks a year, earning a yearly profit of 30,000 yuan. Having gotten a taste of success, He Jianjun in turn encouraged his younger sister to raise 4,000 laying ducks, and together they embarked on the road to prosperity. Farmer Guo Anbao had a family of 4, and the couple mainly relied on doing odd jobs away from home to make a living. He wanted to raise ducks but had no funds. When Wu Deben learned of this, he lent him 12,000 yuan and also got a 20,000 yuan loan from the credit union, helping him build a 900 sq m duck house and raise 4,000 laying ducks, which brought a profit of 18,000 yuan that year. Now, Guo Baoan has not only repaid all his debts, but has also newly built a multi-story house and added home appliances. At present the two farmers have become members of the waterfowl farming association. 

    Wu Deben not only eagerly helps farming households solve funding problems, but also provides free services in technology, disease prevention, feed supply, sales and other aspects, never taking a cent in commission. The farming households trust him very much, and whenever anything comes up they are willing to seek out President Wu, and Old Wu is happy to help. The work of the Shaobo Waterfowl Farming Association is vigorous and impressive: its members have grown from the original 8 households to 37 households, with 265,000 laying ducks raised annually, 12 tons of commercial eggs produced daily, an annual output value of 28 million yuan, and a profit of 1.6 million yuan.