Chicken production rises thanks to technical support

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Poultry farming is common in Tangyin County in China’s Henan Province but for many years, production was inefficient.

Now, thanks to a local company, thousands in this central province are seeing their efforts hatch higher incomes.

Ma Heyin, 43, spends most of his day with the 25,000 chickens at his farm. When he started 17 years ago, he could only raise 3,000 chickens as he didn’t have much space. These days he has his own poultry farm and raises about 150,000 birds a year.

Chicken production in Tangyin County has become more efficient. /CGTN Photo

A local frozen poultry firm is behind the improvement. In the early 2000s, the Yongda company started sending technicians to farming villages in the county. Farmers like Ma received chicks, fodder, and immunizations free of charge. The farmers were also taught how to raise chickens more effectively.

Since the company started to participate in poverty alleviation work, more than 200 rural families in Tangyin County have not only been lifted out of poverty, but actually make a really good living for themselves.

Ma now owns a car and lives in a two-story home. It was a far cry from two decades ago when survival was his main concern. “I never thought that one day I could have my own car," he said. "When I was farming on the land, I only made a couple thousand RMB a year, and sometimes I’d go hungry. Life has much changed .”

The Yongda company provided technical assistance to help raise farming standards. /CGTN Photo

Not everyone can own a farm like Ma, but many landless folk now work in factories, earning decent wages.

Diao Xiujuan, a worker at the poultry factory, said, “My husband died several years ago, and I had to take care of his mom and two children on my own. It was nearly impossible. It was not until I got this job here at the factory that my life finally improved.”

Diao earns about 3,000 yuan a month, which is 12 times more than what people under the poverty line earn.

Young chicks were given to farmers. /CCGTN Photo

Yongda also provided subsidies of 3,200 yuan a year for 10 consecutive years to households with members without "labor ability." In exchange, the company can borrow low-interest loans from the China Development Bank.

Wang Guangcan, vice chairman of the company, said everybody benefits from these types of arrangements; the company grows and others prosper.

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