Liangdang County, Gansu Province: free-range chickens peck out the road to prosperity

Driving through the depths of the mountains in Zhanerxiang Town, Liangdang County, the land of Mazhuang Village was green in May. Along the winding mountain road to a hidden mountain, before it arrived, the sound of chickens was already in my ears. When I came to the chicken farm, I saw Fang Zhilin shouting and sprinkling feed on the ground. Then the chickens quickly gathered around and competed for the feed on the ground.

Fang Zhilin, 54, is a big talent and "chicken farmer" in Mazhuang Village, Zhanerxiang Town. "I started farming last year, and I did a good job, and this year I put all my energy into it." Speaking of his breeding experience, Fang Zhilin opened the chatterbox. In April 2016, as the director of the village committee of Mazhuang Village, he learned of the reward and subsidy policy for the development of characteristic industries, and came up with the idea of raising farmers to increase their income and get rid of poverty. After targeting the chicken industry, he built a chicken coop on his ten-acre barren mountain, bought 5000 chicken seedlings, and invested 200000 yuan with five poor households to set up a professional cooperative. Began the road of breeding.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, and the initial stage of raising chickens is not as smooth as Fang Zhilin imagined. "because I just got in touch with the chicken industry last year, I couldn't keep up with a lot of technology and took a lot of detours." Fang Zhilin told reporters about the hardships in the process of breeding. Sometimes when chickens get sick, they should often be distinguished by observing their coat color and feces. They have to go to the chicken farm at least four times a day. Later, with the help of township cadres and the technical guidance of county experts, the chicken farm is slowly on the right track.

After a year of exploration and accumulation of experience, Fang Zhilin's chicken farm has a certain scale, which also makes him a leader in getting rich in the village. "the chicken farm has been expanded this year, and the chicken house alone occupies more than 800 square meters." Fang Zhilin said that with the continuous increase in sales, he has expanded the chicken farm and increased the number of chicken breeds. at present, there are tens of thousands of chickens in the farm, many of which are sold to Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places.

In recent years, Liangdang County has supported and guided the poor people to vigorously develop characteristic industries, creating a "Liangdang model" in which well-off mutual aid groups drive poor households. According to Wang Da, deputy secretary of Zhanerxiang Town, Mazhuang Village, as the village with the largest poverty area in Zhanerxiang Town, promotes the income of poor households to get rid of poverty through policy support for the development of industries. Driven by the development model of well-off mutual aid groups, it has formed a driving model of "cooperatives + farmers". The cooperative established by Fang Zhilin developed under this mode. when he first established the cooperative, he invested 150000 yuan. Five poor households have a policy subsidy of 10,000 yuan for each household, with a total of 50,000 yuan for shares, and pay dividends every year.

"thanks to a good policy, we have something to look forward to." Fang Zhilin could not hide his joy. In 2016, the chicken farm generated an income of more than 200,000 yuan. Five poor households participated in shares, each with a dividend of more than 5000 yuan. Other poor families still work in the farm, and the most can get more than 6000 yuan.

There is a 10-square-meter mobile board house next to the chicken farm, which is the "guardian land" of Fang Zhilin. Now he has resigned as director of the village committee and devoted all his energies to farming cooperatives. "this is my home. I can't sleep without listening to the crowing of chickens every day." Fang Zhilin sat at the door, looking at the bouncing chicken, eyes full of joy.