Goats help mountainous county rise from poverty

The lives of villagers in Yingshan county, Sichuan province have been greatly improved thanks to the development of modern agriculture, education and infrastructure.

Li Yingqiang, a 60-year-old resident of Gulou village, Damiao township, earned a considerable income from breeding black goats.

In February 2018, he borrowed four goats from the local black goat breeding center. In November, he returned the goats to the center, earning more than 2,400 yuan ($356). While the four goats were under his care, they gave birth five times, and Li was allowed to keep all the offspring.

An aerial view of a village in Yingshan county, Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"The center provided free technology and medical support during the process," said Li, who added that the only requirement was that he take care of the goats.

The black goat is an icon of Yingshan. In 2009, the "Yingshan Black Goat" was included in a catalogue of China's geographical indication protection products.

To help local villagers out of poverty, Yingshan county has been developing its black goat industry, and has built black goat breeding centers in five townships. A total of 17,553 households engage in the breeding of black goats.

"The key to poverty alleviation lies in industry. Only when industry thrives can people rise from poverty," said Zhu Shengguo, deputy Party chief of Yingshan.

The black goat is an icon of Yingshan county. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhu said that 150 poor villages have built industrial parks. The county already has 30,000 mu (2,000 hectares) of Late-ripening citrus fruit, 30,000 mu of Chinese medical herbs, 40,000 mu of green peppers, and 10,000 mu of vegetables.

Hu Lan, a student at the Chongqing Technology and Business University, is grateful that she was able to attend university with the help of the county's policies to help poor students.

Hu's family is poor and her parents have been sick for many years. The local high school reduced her tuition fees and gave her an education grant of 2,000 yuan per year. After she was admitted to the university, she got a 5,000-yuan grant from the county, an 8,000-yuan student loan, and an education grant of 4,000 yuan per year.

Li Yong, director of the county's student assistance administration center, said that since 2013, an 11.6 million yuan education grant has been provided to 2,325 poor college and university students. Another 45 million yuan in poverty alleviation funds has also been distributed to 73,000 poor students.

New cement roads are built throughout mountainous villages in Yingshan county, Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Infrastructure in impoverished villages in Yingshan is also improving.

"In the past, it was really difficult to go to the market when it was raining, as there was not an inch of cement road," said the Party chief of Xindu village, Xiaoshui township.

Last year, a 7.2-kilometer cement road and another two shorter roads were built, thanks to the poverty alleviation policy.

Feng Shaoquan, Party chief of Jishan village, is thankful that the village no longer suffers from water shortages. Due to the construction of a new water supply system, all households now have access to clean running water.

"From 2014 to 2018, a total of 77,628 people rose from poverty. The county's poverty rate has dropped to 0.6 percent," said Huang Jinsheng, Party chief of Yingshan county.

Huang said the county will continue to develop the black goat, Chinese medical herb, pig, green fruit and vegetable industries in order to improve the lives of local people.