Chicken-Raising for Prosperity

Guo Rongrong, Shipantou Village, Yangping Town, Kelan County, Shanxi Province

Guo Rongong and her husband, Zhang Jinyu, are an underprivileged family from Shipantou Village in Yangping Town. The two of them only have primary school-level education. Before being officially identified as a poor household, they cultivated a few mu of fields with low production and income. They had a heavy family burden. Their elderly parents needed regular care and their daughter Zhang Min needed money for the high tuition fees of the college she was attending in another province. The whole family was stressed and anxious every time they needed to borrow money for the tuition fees.

Poverty drives people to strive harder for a better life. Guo and her husband made up their minds to pay off the debts and work towards prosperity. By chance, Guo’s husband came across a newspaper article about attaining prosperity through raising chickens. After careful considerations of the favorable natural conditions in the village, the couple decided to raise chicken as a path to a prosperous life. However, without the requisite capital and technology, they were likely to fail, which would leave the whole family in an even worse condition.

Remaining persistent with her goal, Guo bravely gave it a shot. She thought, “If I don’t take the first step toward prosperity, will I be stuck in poverty for the rest of my days just like my parents? How about I do something about it now!” She borrowed 5,000 yuan from her parents’family and took out an interest-free loan of 10,000 yuan from the bank under the government’s agricultural-benefit policy. With sufficient funds in hand, she built a chicken shed in the courtyard. Due to her poor education and lack of professional breeding training and awareness of the need for daily disease control, some chickens died in the early stages of operations without laying eggs. This failure reminded Guo that hard work alone is not enough; one also needs skills and technology. Professional scientific farming techniques are a must.

It so happened that the county offered a chicken breeding training course targeted at poor households. Therefore, though still feeling remorse for her failure, Guo attended it with excitement. Through several days of training, she learned a great deal. She realized that there is a huge difference between blind breeding and scientific farming, and that this difference is directly related to her economic interests and determines her success. During the learning process, she was focused and called upon her experiences to ask the teacher for guidance. Finally, she successfully mastered a series of farming techniques, including chicken selection, chicken management, egg production management and so on.

After returning home, Guo and her husband overcame all difficulties to scientifically raise chickens. With careful management and scientific feeding, 590 laying hens survived. Guo earned a net income of 10,000 yuan that year, thus becoming a local leader who become better off financially by raising chickens.

The initial taste of success not only brought happiness but also strengthened Guo’s confidence and determination to raise chickens for prosperity. She now aims at higher and more distant goals. While caring for her own farm, she often takes care of other underprivileged households in the village, showing concern about their lives and work productions. For instance, she voluntarily instructs residents who want to raise a farm about how to choose and feed chicken, how to control diseases and how to manage the whole farm. She often donates eggs or money to help the underprivileged elderly citizens. She said, “I understand how life was difficult in the past and now that I am better equipped, I have to help my fellow villagers who have their own difficulties.”

People in Yangping Town admire and praise Guo. Hardworking and diligent, she overcame obstacles to start her business and develop her techniques, and strives for prosperity. Kind and grateful, she shares her experience and knowledge voluntarily with her fellow villagers to help bring them to prosperity and build a well-off society. She sets herself up as a model for the eradication of poverty and pursuit of prosperity. Ordinary as Guo is, she never gives up or compromises in the face of trouble. Guo, who realizes her value through hard work and wisdom, is one among thousands of diligent and kind Chinese farmers.

Text & Photo / Shanxi Women’s Federation