Her success in pig farming has made Deng Sumei both well known and well off. Deng is a member of the Yao ethnic minority from Ruyuan County of Shaoguan Municipality in Guangdong Province. This open-minded and forthcoming lady is well thought of in her hometown.
After graduating from senior high school, Deng had a number of different jobs but left each in turn for she thought there was no future in them. Then in 1997 she saw her opportunity. A new cross-bred variety of pig was introduced in her hometown. Realizing that a good chance of earning money had arrived at last, she quickly became a pig farmer.
Over the next several years she frequently consulted professionals in pig rearing and took care to learn every aspect of the business. Now Deng has become an expert herself and can handle any situation that might arise. Meanwhile she has been enlarging her pig farm. It is now the largest in her hometown with 286 pigs and has the capacity to throughput over 500 pigs a year.
In 2001 the local price of pork fell to just 5 yuan per kilogram (about US 30 cents per pound) bringing financial hardship to her fellow farmers. However, by then Deng had expanded into new and profitable markets and was selling in other towns where higher prices could be achieved. She came up with an idea to help the other local farmers reach those markets too.
The other producers brought their fattened pigs to a local pick-up-point. From there Deng's trucks carried them off to be sold in the other towns. Results were good and more and more farmers came on board the scheme.
Deng realized that she had to study the market carefully. At the same time, she began to think of how the producers in their scattered farms could best be united to deal with potential market risks.
In June of 2006 guided and supported by the local government, Deng established a Pork Marketing Association for the pig farmers and was elected as its Director. The association has helped the farmers to improve their pig-breeding skills and find new markets for their pork.
Deng has several roles now and is much busier than ever before. As a party member and congress delegate, she sees it as her responsibility to promote further development for her hometown in the mountains so that her fellow farmers can enjoy a new prosperity.
(China.org.cn, 17thcongress.org.cn by Pang Li October 11, 2007)
