Large-scale crayfish farming brings good returns to Jingjiang

Chen Daoyou, a villager from Xinhe Village, Xinqiao Town, Jingjiang, transferred 18 mu of low-lying marshland inside the village's Yangtze River levee to farm crayfish, achieving an annual income of 8,000 yuan per mu and realizing good economic returns.

In Xinhe Village, Xinqiao Town, whenever Chen Daoyou is mentioned, everyone gives a thumbs-up, admiring his entrepreneurial spirit. Chen Daoyou is 50 years old and a member of Group 3 of Xinhe Village, Xinqiao Town. Speaking of Chen Daoyou's life experiences, they have been rather rough. He worked as a farmer at home, as a factory worker, helped others raise fish, and worked as a temporary worker at the post office, always earning a meager income. In 2005, bad news struck: he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and after surgery he rested at home for some time. Later, to make a living, he went to the riverside pen aquaculture farm in his village, resting while helping out. In the eyes of ordinary people, a 50-year-old cancer patient could no longer endure much hardship, but Chen Daoyou was simply a person who could not stay still. A Shanghai native from a neighboring village who contracted ponds to raise crabs and crayfish had very good returns and made a lot of money, which deeply moved Chen Daoyou, and he began to think about raising crayfish. Through understanding the market, he learned that crayfish prices had risen sharply in the past two years, many times higher than a few years before. He also found that raising crayfish did not require much physical labor, making it quite suitable for older people. So he decided to farm crayfish, but he met with unanimous opposition from his family, the reason of course being his health. But in the end his family could not stop him. In early 2008, he transferred 18 mu of low-lying marshland inside the village's Yangtze River levee, began raising crayfish, and started his entrepreneurial path at age 50.

In terms of the farming variety, Chen Daoyou chose the well-known Xuyi crayfish. This crayfish has good color and a delicious taste. In addition, Chen Daoyou's crayfish are raised by the Yangtze River in good-quality, pollution-free water, so they are highly favored by consumers. Now he can sell more than 30 jin of crayfish every day, at a price of about 20 yuan per jin, with daily sales of more than 600 yuan. Chen Daoyou's crayfish began to be sold at the beginning of this year, and so far the initial investment of 50,000 yuan has basically been recovered. According to Chen Daoyou's calculations, the net profit from crayfish farming is about 8,000 yuan per mu, and his annual net income can reach more than 100,000 yuan. Because of the good returns, two of his relatives also gave up their low-income jobs and came to help him.

Chen Daoyou's crayfish farming has gone very smoothly. He had raised fish for others for many years and accumulated some aquaculture experience. In addition, he is quite good at learning, searching everywhere for materials to study, and often going to Xuyi for on-site inspections and learning, so the crayfish he raises basically do not get sick, and he has suffered no losses in this regard. Beside Chen Daoyou's crayfish pond, there is still a large stretch of low-lying marshland. Chen Daoyou plans to gradually expand his crayfish farming area in the next few years to reach a farming scale of 100 mu.

( Source: Anhui Rural Network )