Crayfish propels poverty alleviation in Hechi village

Many impoverished households in Zhai'ao village, Jinchengjiang district, Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have been lifted out of poverty through the success of the crayfish industry in the past year.

At the beginning of this year, the Crayfish Ecological Breeding Core Demonstration Area was officially established in the village. The area is set to cover an area of 3,045 mu (203 hectares) and has an investment of 15 million yuan ($2.12 million).

The model of multiple cropping has been adopted in the demonstration area to make rational use of agricultural resources and enhance farm productivity. Crayfish is raised together with rice or vegetables like spinach and cane shoots.

Currently, the annual output value of the demonstration area is about 7 million yuan, of which 6.5 million yuan is from crayfish. After two to three years of development, the annual output value is expected to rise to 42 million yuan.

Measures, such as land transfer and job creation, have been taken by the demonstration area to help poverty-stricken people increase their incomes and rise out of poverty.

More than 50 villagers, including 30 impoverished ones, have been working at the area so far. It is expected that over 300 jobs will be available after construction of the demonstration area is completed.

In addition, the area is also improving its hardware facilities to establish an industrial cluster integrating functions of crayfish breeding, sales, catering, and tourism.

To date, more than 10 million yuan has been invested to build the infrastructure in the area. An entrance door, footpaths spanning 2,000 meters long, cement roads totaling 6,500 meters, canals spanning 3,000 meters, as well as a cultural exhibition hall have been built up here.