Hebei Xian County: Building a Comprehensive Duck Industry Chain to Boost Rural Revitalization

In recent years, Xian County in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, has closely focused on the traditional industry of meat duck farming. By building, strengthening, and extending the industry chain, the county has developed a fully integrated, multi-sectoral industrial system spanning primary, secondary, and tertiary activities—including raw material cultivation, feed processing, breeding duck production, meat duck farming, slaughtering and carcass preparation, meat-cutting and portioning, cooked-food processing, cold-chain logistics, and even a network of restaurant outlets. Today, the entire meat duck industry has become a key local driver for boosting both economic growth and rural prosperity.

Agriculture has never been an industry that operates in isolation; when the secondary and tertiary sectors join forces, they create a new modern agricultural landscape where "1 + 1 + 1 > 3," driving rural revitalization as a powerful new engine. In recent years, Xian County in Cangzhou City, Hebei Province, has firmly focused on its traditional duck farming industry. By building, strengthening, and extending the industry chain, the county has developed a fully integrated, multi-sectoral value chain spanning primary, secondary, and tertiary industries—including raw material cultivation, feed processing, breeding duck production, meat duck farming, slaughtering and carcass preparation, cooked-food processing, cold-chain logistics, and even a network of restaurant outlets. As a result, in 2021, Xian County was recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs as one of the first "National Typical Counties for Integrated Agricultural Value Chains," and was also designated by the National Development and Reform Commission as a pilot county for the third batch of "National Demonstration Parks for Rural Industry Integration." Most recently, the Xian County Modern Agricultural Demonstration Park—specializing in meat ducks—has successfully earned its place among the first batch of provincial-level modern agricultural demonstration parks. Today, the entire meat duck industry has become a key local driver of economic growth, helping to strengthen the county’s economy and improve farmers’ livelihoods.

Xian County, leveraging the Leshou Agricultural and Pastoral Group as its industry leader, is fully committed to building a comprehensive duck meat industry chain. This is achieved through a unique business model that integrates "enterprise + industrial chain + farmer households," encompassing everything from breeding ducks and hatching ducklings to contract farming, feed supply, disease prevention, and even a chain of Peking duck restaurants. As a result, Xian County has become the nation's largest production base for raw Peking duck products.

To promote the sustained and healthy development of the industry, Xian County has, on one hand, introduced the "Xian County High-Quality Development Plan for the Meat Duck Industry (2021-2025)," establishing a government-led organizational coordination mechanism that is effectively driving the transformation and upgrading of traditional meat duck farming. On the other hand, the county is actively advancing collaborations between universities and local governments, as well as research institutes and local entities. By partnering with institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, and Hebei Engineering University, Xian County has jointly built cutting-edge technology research platforms, paving the way for the establishment of the "Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Meat Duck Germplasm Innovation Center" in the region. Additionally, the county has already set up the Hebei Province Roasted Duck Semi-finished Product Technology Innovation Center and the Cangzhou City Duck Industry Engineering Technology Center—both leading research facilities. Currently, the county boasts 61 professional technical personnel, has secured 15 patents, and is in the process of applying for an additional 10 invention patents, laying the foundation for the gradual strengthening of the industry's core competitiveness.

Xian County emphasizes leveraging the leading role of its flagship enterprises to drive and guide development, continuously strengthening the close-knit profit linkages between businesses and farmers. This approach ensures genuine, mutually beneficial growth—where companies thrive while farmers reap tangible benefits—creating a new model of win-win collaboration between enterprises and agricultural producers. The county has implemented a "Five Unifications" profit-linkage model: "unified seedling supply, unified feed provision, unified disease prevention, unified technical guidance, and unified product collection and processing." This innovative framework fully unlocks the potential of the livestock industry, with market risks—often unpredictable and volatile—assumed by the enterprises themselves. As a result, farmers enjoy stable incomes, effectively bridging the gap between small-scale production and large-scale markets. Not only does this provide farmers with peace of mind, but it also guarantees a steady, reliable supply of high-quality duck products while safeguarding food safety standards.

Han Qingzhong, a duck farmer, was one of the first in his village to venture into raising meat ducks. In recent years, he has inspired many nearby villagers to join the duck-raising community. "Before, I worked far from home in other regions—earning less money and enduring tough conditions," he shares. "But now, staying close to home while raising ducks, tending to my land, and managing my farm, I’m actually making a pretty good income. It’s far better than commuting to distant places for work!" As of now, the county boasts over 700 contracted duck farmers, with some households earning as much as 1 million yuan or more annually. On average, each household enjoys an annual income exceeding 200,000 yuan, making meat duck farming a standout "golden brand" in the region’s rural revitalization efforts.

Meanwhile, we are fully leveraging the advantages of our industrial chain by introducing tailored employment support measures at various stages. We prioritize the transfer of land from impoverished households—combining "land transfer with flexible employment," which not only boosts farmers' incomes but also empowers them to become independent, self-sustaining workers. Additionally, we purchase corn grown by local farmers at prices higher than market rates. Furthermore, through activities like duck carcass processing and feed handling, we’ve created numerous job opportunities for villagers in the surrounding areas. As a result, the entire meat duck industry chain has directly supported over 6,000 jobs and indirectly generated more than 10,000 additional employment opportunities, emerging as a new and effective "winning formula" for farmers to increase their income and achieve prosperity.

Next, Xian County will accelerate the project construction progress and further leverage its advantages across the entire industry chain to provide support and drive growth. Currently, the second slaughterhouse facility of Leshou Agricultural and Pastoral Group—a 45-million-unit meat duck slaughtering line along with supporting projects—has already been established. Once fully operational and reaching full capacity, the project is expected to engage more than 1,000 contracted duck farmers, creating over 20,000 jobs in related industries such as duck shed construction teams, meat duck disease prevention teams, and duck/livestock feed transportation crews. Additionally, the initiative will generate annual social benefits exceeding 1 billion yuan for Xian County and surrounding regions.