Yellow goat sector drives prosperity in Nanjiang

High up on the southern slopes of the Daba Mountains, thousands of Nanjiang yellow goats roam freely through woodlands, brushlands and ravines, quench their thirst from mountain springs and graze peacefully. Dozens of kilometers away in Nanjiang county, Sichuan province, a vibrant ecosystem of processing plants, specialty restaurants, cultural and creative shops, and tourism programs — all centered around the unique livestock — has emerged.

This prosperity was hard-won.

As China's first domestically developed meat goat breed, the Nanjiang yellow goat was developed by livestock experts who began their work in the 1950s by crossbreeding local goats with elite domestic breeds. Officially named in 1998, it earned a reputation as "Asia's No 1 goat" for its rapid growth, large frame, high fertility and outstanding meat quality.

Despite its superior traits, however, farmers raised them in small numbers and sold them at prices little different from those of ordinary goats. The turning point came in 2006, when Wang Qide, a Nanjiang native, gave up his catering business in Fujian province and returned home to establish a breeding cooperative to organize villagers to raise Nanjiang yellow goats.

"I saw Nanjiang yellow goats sold elsewhere for astonishing prices during Spring Festival, while the farmers who raised them remained poor," Wang said.

Upon returning home, Wang discovered a critical problem — years of uncontrolled crossbreeding had left purebred Nanjiang yellow goats dangerously scarce.

In collaboration with the Nanjiang Yellow Goat Research Institute, Wang established a breeding farm and a sci-tech innovation center, creating a dual conservation system that has preserved 5,000 core breeding goats and 3,000 superior gene samples.

Further breakthroughs followed. By introducing genomic selection breeding technology, the second generation of selected goats grows faster, produces more meat and achieves higher lambing rates, all within a shorter production cycle.

To address long-standing production bottlenecks, the county has also built five large-scale breeding farms. At the Gaota primary breeding farm, automation has taken over tasks ranging from feeding and environmental monitoring to waste treatment. The farm currently houses 2,000 female breeding goats and produces 6,000 breeding goats annually.

"Three more such farms are under construction, and we plan to have 11 by 2027," said Jiang Kang, director of the Nanjiang Yellow Goat Research Institute. "By 2028, these farms will produce 30,000 to 40,000 breeding goats annually."

At the same time, industrial processing has dramatically increased the economic value of each goat.

At Sichuan Dejian Nanjiang Yellow Goat Food Co, founded by Wang, a single goat can be processed into more than 30 products across seven categories, ranging from chilled meat to snacks and pre-prepared dishes. This increases the value of each goat from about 1,600 yuan ($237) to more than 3,000 yuan. "Our best-selling goat meat sauce alone generates more than 50 million yuan in annual sales," said Chen Hao, the company's general manager. He added that the company completed a major upgrade to its deep-processing line in the first half of the year to boost production capacity.

To further tap into the broader national market, the company launched livestream sales in late June, with average daily sales reaching 7,000 to 8,000 yuan, Chen said. "Our revenue was 150 million yuan last year. We're targeting 350 million yuan next year and 1 billion yuan within five years," he added.

Beyond commercial success, Wang's most notable contribution is an innovative "goat-for-goat" poverty alleviation model. In line with the program, farmers receive female breeding goats at no cost, return the same number after two years, and keep the remaining livestock.

The model enabled 528 low-income households to each increase their annual income by 30,000 yuan. It was recognized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization as one of the world's best poverty reduction practices in 2019.

The rise of the Nanjiang yellow goat industry has since turned the breed into an iconic local brand.

Official statistics show that last year's Nanjiang Yellow Goat Gourmet Festival not only hiked goat product sales by 80 percent year-on-year, but also lifted revenue in hospitality and other related sectors by 65 percent.

pengchao@chinadaily.com.cn