Breeding industry a hit in Hechi's poverty alleviation

After years of development, the cattle and sheep breeding industry has become one of the main poverty alleviation industries in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, with bases, breeding farms, and breeding cooperatives spreading across all counties of the city.

In 2019, 230,000 cattle and 850,000 sheep were slaughtered in Hechi and 111,000 beef cattle and 386,000 mutton sheep were slaughtered in the first half of 2020.

Currently, the cattle stock is 416,000, an increase of 9.97 percent year-on-year; the sheep stock is 734,000, an increase of 7.36 percent. The cattle and sheep industry has been expanded and developed, covering 47,000 poor households in Hechi, and lifting more than 180,000 impoverished people out of poverty.

The cattle and sheep breeding industry not only directly brings benefits to the Hechi people, but its development has also become a model example of industrial-driven poverty alleviation in impoverished areas.

For those who have no money to buy cattle, Hechi has implemented a tripartite agreement between poor households, the government, and enterprises. Each household can loan one calf or 10 lambs from the enterprises, and give back the cattle (or sheep) to the enterprise after breeding for 10-12 months. After deducting costs, the income goes to poor households. Poor households with no or insufficient labor can breed cattle or sheep with neighbors, or farm in cooperatives or with enterprises to receive bonuses.

The growth of the cattle and sheep industry has accelerated the development of upstream and downstream industries, including breeding, slaughter, cold chain logistics, product processing, and e-commerce sales.

It has also promoted the division of labor in society, driven the circulation of rural land, strengthened the adjustment of agricultural structures, and promoted the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries.