Farmers flock to sheep bank for funding

Innovative measures are raising living standards in an isolated community on the edge of a desert. Li Lei reports from Beijing, with Hu Dongmei in Yanchi county, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

Yin Guotao, a sheep farmer in a remote village in Yanchi county, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, beamed at his friends as he spoke proudly about his lucrative business.

The 47-year-old was buoyed by last year's earnings of more than 500,000 yuan ($74,000) from the sale of 2,000 Tan sheep.

The animals were purchased by Ningxia Suyuan Technology Development Co, a government-backed company that advocates organic sheep farming.

"I am not bragging," Yin said, referring to his earnings. However, the amount is worth boasting about, given that Yanchi is an impoverished county on the southwestern border of the Mu Us Desert, one of China's largest arid areas.

His earnings mean that Yin is one of Yanchi's leading, and wealthiest, farmers of Tan sheep, a breed endemic to China that is noted for its delicious meat and long-staple wool. Gourmets regard the meat as some of the best in the country, which is reflected in the market price of about 40 yuan per 500 grams.

However, farmers in Yanchi toiled for decades for scant financial reward as a result of poor access to markets and a lack of the financial services that are crucial to business expansion.

It wasn't until last year that Yanchi was removed from the regional government's list of destitute areas. The county was one of the last places in China to be officially classified as poverty-free, ahead of the central government's goal of eradicating rural poverty by the end of 2020.

Nine years ago, when Yin started his farm, he was haunted by the fear that the volatile price of lamb and the lack of distribution channels would destroy his livelihood.

Those fears have been shared by generations of Yanchi farmers, who depend on animal husbandry for a living.

Things began to change in 2017, when the Tan Sheep Bank - a microfinance program devised by Suyuan in the same year - took root in the county.

Yin is just one of many farmers in the county to be helped by the program in the past two years. Using the sheep as collateral, the bank offers loans to poor farmers looking to expand their operations.

The interest rate is almost zero, which is a boon for impoverished farmers with limited means of securing development funding.

Yin obtained a loan of 150,000 yuan, a figure determined by the number of sheep in his flock and their breed purity. The company also pledges to buy the sheep when they are ready for market.

Farmers who register with Suyuan are eligible for a monthly interest payment of about 3 yuan for each sheep. To be registered, the sheep must meet standards set by Suyuan and be raised organically, thus catering to consumer demand and boosting sales.

According to Suyuan, it has signed purchasing contracts with 56 farmers, including 32 officially classified as impoverished. However, only 14 of the farmers have taken out loans, which total more than 700,000 yuan.