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DEVELOPING a modern stockbreeding industry is quickly becoming a sure path to prosperity for thousands of Chinese farmers in Anhui Province. Located in the hinterlands of east China, Anhui specializes in raising livestock, especially pigs. In 2007, Anhui had 13.34 million live pigs on hand and sold 23.6 million pigs on the market. Pork output was 2.025 million tons, accounting for 62.5 percent of the provinces total meat production, making pig breeding the provinces leading sector of its animal husbandry industry. As prices have risen and supplies contracted over the past two years, pig breeding has become one of the principal means farmers have used to bolster their incomes.

On October 9, 2007, the Anhui provincial government unveiled a plan to develop its pig industry — Plan 462 —designed as a way to implement a government directive entitled Opinions of the State Council on Promoting Live Pig Production and Stabilizing Market Supply. The following year, on March 31, 2008, a special mobilization meeting to implement Plan 462 was attended by officials and pig producers, highlighting the governments determination to boost pork production.

Opportunities Outweigh Challenges

Pig production forms a direct link between farmers incomes and the prices consumers pay at the counter. Most significantly, the abnormal hikes in the price of pork that began last year havehad a dramatic effect on the consumer price index (CPI), and have become a social issue.

According to Plan 462, by 2010 Anhui Province will produce 40 million pigs for the market, with the proportion of large-scale breeding increasing to 60 percent of the provinces total, and its large-scale processing capacity growing to 20 million pigs. That prediction is in line with a government policy to establish a long-term development mechanism for the rural pig industry as part of its drive to build a national base for pig production, processing and supply.

The work required to realize the plan, which faces both time constraints and unprecedented technical difficulties, has proved to be a major challenge for provincial authorities in Anhui. But it also represents a tremendous opportunity. Last year alone, the State Council issued four documents involving the pig breeding industry, and Anhui Province implemented a series of related polices to push its stockbreeding and pig industries forward.

As Anhuis pig breeding industry begins to respond to the stimulus, the links between production and marketing have also begun to solidify. Neighboring Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta, Anhui is highly accessible and enjoys natural geographic advantages. As a breadbasket province, Anhui is rich in animal feed, making it ideal for livestock breeding.

In recent years, pork consumption by Anhuis population has continued to grow, providing livestock breeders with an enormous market. Many national key livestock enterprises, such as Mengniu, Yili and Sanlu, have invested more than RMB 2.5 billion in Anhuis stockbreeding and pig industries. With so many obvious advantages, Plan 462 will take the province a long way down the road to the industrialization of its meat producing industries, while enacting ecologically sound practices to protect the environment.

Implementing Plan 462

Putting a plan into practice requires not only accurate market forecasts and analysis, but also the elaboration of new economic and production mechanisms on the basis of new ideas. Currently, many contradictions remain. Among them are the continuing disparities between pig breeding and processing capacity and a balanced supply for pork; between boar fertility and pig produce requirements; between epidemic disease control and prevention capabilities and the increasingly complex situation regarding animal epidemics; and between a decentralized breeding model and modern stockbreeding practices. Lagging production and market shortages require that the province stabilize and increase pig production to ensure market supply.

Accordingly, Plan 462, which relies on the latest scientific theories and best practices, will promote ecological breeding and optimize distribution and standards, encourage the sound and sustainable development of the pig breeding industry, as well as increase farmers incomes.

The province has also enacted a series of related measures, such as implementing a development strategy in support of major pig producing areas such as Hefei, Luan and Fuyang. In addition, construction of standard pig farms will be encouraged through a system of rewards, in conjunction with artificial fertilization techniques. Pig breeding and processing enterprises will also benefit from investments and government support, which will upgrade existing equipment and bolster competitiveness.

Furthermore, a rapid expansion of “order breeding” will be introduced, and support given to a diversified production and sale system, while the establishment of a stockbreeding technical support system will increase the technical level of pork production. The government has also emphasized epidemic disease control and prevention measures, and has enacted a “quality-assured meat” project to guarantee quality and safety.

Together, innovative measures, such as strengthening organization and leadership, introducing long-term work mechanisms and increasing inputs, have made Plan 462 a potent strategy for turning Anhui Province into one of Chinas leading pork producers.