Luocheng farmers get rich by raising snakes

Wu Qiang, a farmer who lifted his family out of poverty in just a few years by breeding venomous cobras and other less-deadly snakes, is now helping other villagers raise snakes to get rich in Luocheng of Hechi city.

Starting the snake industry in Spring Festival of 2013, Wu made a profit at the end of the year, and then he banded with other villagers to develop it on a larger scale. With a total investment of more than one million yuan ($146,205), Wu enlarged the breeding base with an area of over 8,000 square meters to improve operational security.

Wu, president of a local specialty farmers' cooperative, stated that they have mastered the breeding skills after several years of exploration and research. He intends to learn further techniques of extracting venom of poisonous snakes in order to look for a developing pattern of selling snake venom, which has a good market and high prices. He is very optimistic about future prospects. 

Wu Qiang carries a snake at his breeding base. [Photo by Gao Dongfeng/hcwang.cn]