Shaoxiong Ecological Farm stands in the central village of Zhaiqian Town, Guidong County surrounded by mountains, which is carpeted with chestnut trees and grasses.

“We adopt a circular agriculture model that combines planting and breeding, which not only solves the problem of environmental pollution caused by animal manure, but also improves the economic benefits of the farm and reduces the market risks brought by the single breeding,” said head of the farm, Huang Shaoxiong.

Huang used to work in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. Due to the need to care for his parents and relevant policies to encourage migrant workers to return to their hometown to start businesses, he decided to go back to Guidong for his career development.

In August 2012, with the help of village officials, Huang Shaoxiong started a pig farm and obtained the corresponding financial subsidies. He depended on the subsidies and more than 100,000 yuan saved from part-time jobs for pig raising.

At first, due to his lack of experience and research of the market, whether he made money or lost money all depended on the market. The early construction of the pig farm and the purchase of supporting facilities saddled Huang with debts of more than 1 million yuan. Fortunately, his wife has been encouraging and supporting him.

Despite the bad start, Huang was not discouraged. He carefully researched the market and learned the relevant knowledge of pig culture and the latest breeding model.

Through the Internet, Huang also learned a lot about the ecological cycle of planting and breeding. The organic matter after dry manure fermentation can be used to fertilize vegetables and fruit trees; the amount of sewage can be reduced by transforming traditional coops; microorganisms can be used to convert feed into useful substances to reduce the stench of manure and urine; and fine forage grass supplements can ensure the health of livestock, thus forming a cycle.

Gradually, his confidence began to grow. He first upgraded his pig farm, while raising more cattle, chickens, fish and so on, and then planted fruit trees and forage grass around the farm.

To make up for his lack of technology, Huang also consulted relevant technical personnel many times on how to make full use of pig manure, the best way zero-emission treatment of manure, and how to make overall arrangements for breeding and planting bases. Based on their advice, he constantly optimized his raising technology.

After several years of exploration, today, his own circular agriculture model with the combination of planting and breeding has been basically improved. The farm has reached more than 13 hectares, with more than 3 hectares of chinquapin, 200 cattle, 500 pigs and one hectare of fish ponds.

“Next, in addition to continuing to improve the quality of the products, I am also prepared to expand the scale and plant more than 6.7 hectares of holly roots (Gang Mei in Chinese) and other Chinese herbal medicines,” Huang said.