可可爱爱宁乡“熊猫猪”，“拱”出致富路

People of Ningxiang, Hunan province, have been raising pigs for more than 1,000 years, and the region's colored pigs are one of the four most famous pig species in China.

湖南宁乡人民养猪的历史已经超过1000年，宁乡花猪更是中国四大名优猪种之一。

The breed is also nicknamed "panda pigs" due to their black and white appearance. They can only be raised in Ningxiang due to its unique weather and water conditions.

宁乡花猪因其黑白相间的外表还被称作“熊猫猪”，且仅适应养殖于拥有独特气候水文条件的宁乡。

The breed nearly went extinct in 2000, as farmers decided raising the species wasn't worthwhile due to its lack of lean meat.

但由于其品种瘦肉率低，当地养殖户认为其经济价值不足，在2000年一度面临灭绝的局面。

Li Shuchu, president of Hunan Liushahe Hua Zhu Ecological Animal Husbandry Co, said his ancestors were all pig farmers, so he was determined to follow in their footsteps.

湖南省流沙河花猪生态牧业股份有限公司董事长李述初表示，他的祖上就曾都是养猪里手，于是自己决定跟随他们的脚步。

He began to rediscover colored pigs in the county in 2003. He and his colleagues found seven boars and 50 sows that year, and he has since been devoted to protecting the breed and raising them on a large scale.

2003年，李述初开始寻找纯正宁乡花猪。他和他的同事们成功寻得纯正血统的7头公猪和50头母猪，此后便一直致力于保护这一品种并进行大规模养殖。

By working with breeding experts, the company has increased the percentage of the pig's lean meat and their breeding capabilities, he said.

李述初表示，通过与育种专家合作，公司成功提高了宁乡花猪的瘦肉率和育种能力。

It also signed cooperation agreements with high-end supermarkets such as Sam's Club, Hema and Metro AG, Li said. After more than 20 years of hard work, the company now sells about 120,000 pigs every year, with annual sales revenue reaching 300 million ($41 million). It has provided job opportunities for more than 12,000 local farmers, who can earn an extra income of 46,000 yuan per year, he said.

他还介绍，公司与山姆、盒马生鲜、麦德龙等高端商超签署了合作协议。经过20多年的努力，该公司目前每年可销售约12万头猪，年销售额达到3亿元（折合约4100万美元），为当地12000余名农民提供了就业机会，农民每年可额外获得4.6万元的收入。

Yin Yulong, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said raising pigs has been very important for Chinese people since ancient times, as it has served as a key source of protein and income for farmers.

中国工程院院士印遇龙表示，养猪自古以来对中国人来说就非常重要，因为它一直是农民获取蛋白质和收入的重要来源。

In addition, the feces of the pigs have been used as fertilizer. Fertilizer from pigs is more environmentally friendly than those made by chemicals, he said.

此外，猪粪也能被用作肥料。他表示，猪粪肥料比化学肥料更环保。

Yin and his team have worked on protecting and improving the breeding of Ningxiang colored pigs for a long time. Through hybridization with foreign pig breeds, his team has increased the lean meat ratio of the pigs, making it more economically appealing for farmers to raise them, he said.

印遇龙带领团队花费了很长时间来保护和改善宁乡花猪的养殖技术。通过与外国猪种杂交，研发团队提高了宁乡花猪的瘦肉率，使农民更有经济动力进行养殖。

The researchers have also worked to improve the immunity of the pigs with Chinese herb medicine, which has reduced their rate of disease and has helped farmers make better use of the breed's feces, he added.

他补充说，研究人员还尝试用中药来提高猪的免疫力，成功降低了它们的发病率，并帮助农民更好地利用宁乡花猪的粪便。

Gao Jingxia, a doctoral candidate at Hunan Normal University, has lived with 150 colored pigs at a farm in Ningxiang since July to conduct research on how to improve the feed conversion ratio of the pigs.

湖南师范大学博士生高静霞，从今年7月开始就驻扎在宁乡一家农场里，与150头花猪共同生活，研究如何提高宁乡花猪的料肉比。

She did not leave the farm until recently because it must be closed off from the outside world to prevent viruses from spreading. The pigs have been her research subjects and closest "friends" over the past several months, she said, adding that they are very cute and docile.

她直到最近才离开农场，因为农场必须与外界隔绝，以防止病毒传播。在过去几个月里，这些宁乡花猪一直是她的研究对象和最亲密的“朋友”。她补充说，它们非常可爱，性情还很温顺。

She put the pigs in the same breeding environment to observe which of them grew fastest, so that researchers can discover the key genes that prompt rapid growth, she said.

她将150头花猪放在同一生长饲养环境中，观察哪些猪长得更快，这样研究人员就可以发现促进快速生长的关键基因。

She was under quarantine for several days before reentering the farm to continue her studies.

她在隔离了几天之后才重新回到农场继续她的研究。

"It is tiring to do the research, but I want to continue and put the research results into actual use, so that the country can have better pig breeds. I am very happy that the research data is very promising for now, and my hard work has paid off," she said.

“这项研究做起来不容易，但我想继续下去并将研究结果应用于实际，以便国家能够拥有更好的猪种。我很高兴目前的研究数据非常有希望，我的努力没有白费。”她说。