Changde, Hunan: the snail covers the Loach and leads to prosperity.

From the transformation of 25 mu of low-yield fields to the construction of a 450-mu characteristic aquaculture base, Zhou Wensheng and Zhou Wenli brothers in Xizhou Township, Xizhou Township, Xizhou Village, Xizhou Township, Changde City, Hunan Province, took less than two years.

On March 15, walking into the characteristic aquaculture base of Zhou Wensheng and Zhou Wenli brothers in Xizhou Village, you can see that several excavators in the low-lying paddy fields beside the village road are under intense construction to build aquaculture ponds. "there are only two processes in building a culture pond for snail and Loach: one is to dig the field to a depth of about one meter so that the snail and Loach can survive the winter, and the second is to increase the ridge of the field to prevent the Loach from escaping." Looking at the breeding base that is about to be completed and put into production, Zhou Wensheng can't help recalling the hardship of starting a business.

In the first half of 2014, Zhou Wensheng, the village director of Xizhou Village, learned in the process of groping for the word "farmer" that the characteristic culture model of raising Loach with snails was very successful in the field. "good management, less investment, easy to sell." Zhou Wensheng was deeply moved by several major features summed up by others.

"in fact, neighboring villages have the successful experience of raising Loach with field snails, but the area is small and the income is not large." Zhou Wensheng said that at that time, the family had a total of 26 mu of low-yield fields for growing rice, with an annual income of less than 600 yuan per mu. If the land could be concentrated to raise Loach and snail, he would first test the "local adaptability" of this characteristic breeding way. second, if the family income is successful, the family income will be greatly increased.

The energetic Zhou Wensheng immediately found his younger brother Zhou Wenli to jointly invest nearly 30,000 yuan, hardened 26 mu of low-yield fields at home, transformed them into culture ponds, bought 500 kilograms of field snails and 300 kilograms of Loach seedlings, and invited a master from Shaoyang to give technical guidance for two months. "according to the experience of farming in neighboring villages, large-scale cultivation of Loach must be carried out in order to obtain benefits." After learning the technology, the Zhou Wensheng brothers discussed with their families, took out all their savings, and invested in renting 22 mu of fish ponds from the West Lake fishing ground to expand the breeding area.

Nearly 50 mu of aquaculture ponds can be managed only by two brothers and their families. "Field snails raise Loach without other feed, because field snails can enrich plankton and aquatic plants in the water and provide natural feed for Loach, and the feces excreted by Loach can be used as feed for field snails." Zhou Wensheng said that daily management is very simple, only need to disinfect the water at the beginning of the year, and usually occasionally put some vegetable cakes as feed, which will not affect his work in the village.

In the second half of 2014, the first batch of snails and Loach seedlings were about to mature, and suddenly there was a series of torrential rain, which led to a rise in the water in the culture pond, and most of the Loach, which had been raised for half a year, ran away. In the end, at the end of the year, 48 mu of aquaculture ponds earned 80,000 yuan only from snails. Unexpectedly, at the beginning of 2015, the West Lake fishing ground recovered another 22 mu of fish ponds, and Zhou Wensheng's characteristic aquaculture was hit one after another.

In the face of setbacks, Zhou Wensheng brothers did not give up. "as long as there are seedlings, we can breed hope." Finally, in 2015, the hard work of the two brothers paid off. in addition to the remaining seeds in the 26-mu culture pond, the snail sold more than 70,000 yuan and the Loach more than 50,000 yuan.

With the money, the two brothers continued to expand their investment. With the support of the Xizhou township government, this year, in Xizhou Village and Happiness Village, the two brothers transferred more than 400 mu of land to raise snails and Loach. What is even more gratifying is that the success of the Zhou Wensheng brothers has set a model for the surrounding farmers to get rich. Six farmers in Tongxin Village and Xihu Town have come to learn from the experience and join the characteristic aquaculture of "field snail + Loach".

This year, 450 mu of aquaculture ponds are about to be put into production, and Zhou Wensheng has already made arrangements for future development: "in 2016, we will declare family farms, and at the same time, we will continue to open up sales markets. We will strive to make the aquaculture of 'snail + Loach' into one of the characteristic industries of modern agriculture in the West Lake."