"We are very busy lately, our strawberry orchard is harvesting, and the pig farm also needs more hands." Tan Yanwen, a Dekon family farmer in Wanzhou, runs a 500-head sows #2 Farm. Nearby the pig farm, his parents also operate a strawberry orchard.
Shortly after Tan Yanwen graduated from Chongqing Jiaotong University, the African swine fever swept through the industry, causing huge turbulence. It was when he realized the demand and supply gap in the national pork market. He saw the prospects of the pig farming industry, and on the other hand, he also wanted to contribute his best to shorten this gap.
"Breeding pigs is a livelihood project. Someone has to do it. At that time, the government also issued some incentive policies. After discussing with my families, I resolutely decided to give up the opportunity to work in big cities and return to our hometown for breeding business."
At that time, Dekon was cooperating the government to promote family farms. After learning about this win-win cooperation model, Tan Yanwen decided to cooperate with Dekon and locate the pig farm near the orchard. His parents are also farmers and they strongly support his returning home for entrepreneurship. Then, Tan Yanwen began his pig farm and orchard business.
"Many of classmates chose to develop in first tier cities. It is undeniable that there are more attractive job opportunities, infrastructure, and entertainment there. However, rather than just being a small "gear", I wish I can go higher, farther, and achieve more."
After Tan Yanwen's pig farm was built, he began to recruit employees in the surrounding areas. Some of them were from nearby areas, and most were from Chongqing City. He believes providing job opportunities for his fellow villagers is also a part of his value.
Every time an employee enters the pig farm, a specialist from Dekon will be responsible for teaching them production skills. At first, some employees were not accustomed to a closed management model, and left soon after they came to the farm. To ensure the stable development of the pig farm, Tan Yanwen offered relatively considerable benefits to the employees and even invited his uncle to lead the work and manage the team in the pig farm.
He himself is responsible for logistics support work such as biosesafety management, on-site material procurement, communication and coordination with various departments or units, and occasionally goes to the strawberry orchard to help his parents.
"I will stay in the farm for some time every month to make spot checks on the implementation of requirements on prevention of the African swine fever virus, while learning about the emotional trends and work situation of employees." The turnover rate of personnel in the pig farm gradually decreased significantly, and his uncle was also dedicated to their family business, so the performance of the pig farm become stable.
In recent years, guided by the company's ecological agriculture development concept of combining planting and breeding, the manure from Tan Yanwen's pig farm are also utilized, which not only better solves environmental problems but also benefits the strawberry orchard near the pig farm.
"We should not pursue quick success in pig farming. It takes time and persistence to see results. In the coming years, we will continue to explore how to improve the pig farm."
Tan Yanwen said that he was filled with patience with pig farming and understands that it is a life-long career. Over the years, he has witnessed the continuous development of the country's rural revitalization cause and saw his hometown gradually emerge from poverty and become prosperous. He feels a great sense of achievement for being able to participate and contribute to the prosperity of his hometown.
Now, it's the third year since his cooperation with Dekon. His pig farm becomes more and more stable, and his heart has also calmed down accordingly. In the future, he will continue to get down to this business.
