Poverty alleviation remains a big challenge in many parts of China. In a remote county in Shaanxi province, local businesses are providing farmers with the resources they need to work their way out of poverty. CGTN's Victor Ning has more.

Zhang Fang is a 55-year-old farmer in Lijiaping Village, Lueyang County. Her main source of income is livestock farming.

ZHANG FANG LIJIAPING VILLAGE RESIDENT "I have been raising chickens for decades. Now the policy is good, and I raise hundreds of chickens at a time."

In Lijiaping Village, there are 20 households like Zhang Fang, raising 7,500 chickens. They started from zero, and have now turned it into an effective tool to escape poverty, with the help of the large scale local producer Qinmai Agriculture Development. Zheng Xiaocui is its manager.

ZHENG XIAOCUI, MANAGER QINMAI AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT, SHAANXI PROVINCE "Farmers still have three worries in breeding. One is risk, the second is epidemics, and the third is sales."

To solve the problems of individual chicken farmers, Qinmai Agriculture Development implemented what it calls the "2+5" ecological breeding mode. The cooperative breeds chickens for 2 months before handing them over to the farmers who raise them for another 5 months and sell them back to the cooperative at a higher price. In 2018, Qinmai Agriculture Development helped 92 poor households increase their income by more than 8,800 yuan. And that figure is expected to increase to nearly 10,000 yuan this year.

ZHAI XIBING LOCAL CHICKEN COOPERATIVE LEADER "We usually sign a guaranteed contract with households in the cooperative to solve their worries. They only need to raise chickens, and don't need to worry about anything else, which gives them a lot of confidence."

To further increase farmers' income, Qinmai Agriculture Development plans to expand the market and promote Lueyang black chickens to the whole country, but it still faces difficulties.

ZHENG XIAOCUI, MANAGER QINMAI AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT, SHAANXI PROVINCE "Therefore, the most important thing for our company is that we must further expand the market and upgrade the whole industrial chain. At the same time, through poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, we hope the mechanism connecting farmers and market can improve. Our company still has a long way to go to achieve that."

Zhang Fang is hopeful for the future.

ZHANG FANG LIJIAPING VILLAGE RESIDENT "The price of chickens has risen in recent years and annual income will surely continue to rise in the future. All in all, we create wealth all by our hands."

The Lueyang black chicken breeding industry is now expanding its scale, to steadily help more farmers work their way out of poverty. Victor Ning, CGTN.