County in Guangxi alleviates poverty via cattle breeding

The Du'an Yao Autonomous County is one of four extremely poor counties in the Guangxi Region, which is why it's one of the main targets of China's poverty alleviation efforts.

The local government is encouraging villagers to make money by raising cattle with the help of a local enterprise.

65-year-old Tang Yunchang is a villager in Disu Town in the Du'an Yao Autonomous County. Three years ago, the family of five was down on its luck after it was beset by medical problems.

Photo shows Tang Yunchang with his cattle. [Photo: ChinaPlus]

"My grandson got Mediterranean anemia. Later, my wife got kidney failure. Our money was all used for treatment and surgeries for their diseases."

After the government in China began implementing targeted poverty alleviation measures, the local authorities encouraged him to earn money by raising and selling cattle.

"The calf I bought was worth 5 to 6,000 yuan, but after rearing it for a year, I sold it for more than 10,000 yuan. I counted up the costs and realized that I can earn a lot in this business. I have loans for 10 calves, and I started with two calves, so now I have 12 already."

Tang Yunchang said he doesn't need to worry about not being able to sell his animals, because the calves were provided by a local enterprise named Guangxi Jiahao that has promised to buy them back.

Wei Ganliu, a representative with Guangxi Jiahao, said the company also profits from this arrangement.

"We butcher different parts of the cattle and process them. We can make over 130 products from one animal, and we sell them at different prices. We buy the cattle from the villager for around 15,000 yuan, but after it has been processed, we can sell it for around 30,000 yuan."

The county has around 30,000 cattle breeding stations and 200 cooperatives, which are able to raise around 150,000 cattle every year.

From 2016 to 2018, around 82,000 people and 43 villages in the county were lifted out of poverty.