"Cow dung bank" innovates green farming in northwest China

YINCHUAN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Bai Wendong, a farmer in Xinglong Township of Xiji County in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, has an account at a special "bank" -- a "cow dung bank."

Each time his cattle pen fills up with animal excrement, he brings it to the "bank" for cash or deposits as credit for exchanging organic fertilizers when his fields need manure.

While cow dung is widely used for cooking, warming, and even medical purposes in India, Chinese farmers use cattle excrement as a profitable commodity to help green farming, improve the living environment, and increase income.

"I have five oxen, and they produce loads of two motor tricycles of excrement each month. Some of the excrement is used as fertilizers in my crop field, but the excrement was too much and became a headache because it smelled, polluted, and took space on farmland in seasons when manure is not needed," said Bai.

After the "cow dung bank" was set up in Xinglong Township about two years ago, local farmers like Bai had access to a new and easy way to dispose of the excrement -- with benefits.

Last year, Bai used the fertilizers he got from the "bank" in his 5,300 square meters of the cornfield.

"The organic fertilizer enriches and nourishes the soil. Last year, we suffered rainfall shortages here, but my corns grew better than my neighbors' because I used the organic fertilizers," he said.

Wang Hailong manages the "cow dung bank" with a government-aided factory producing organic fertilizers by processing the excrement collected from farmers into products.

He and his friends started the project in August 2020 with 6 million yuan (943,000 U.S. dollars). It now has 19 staff members.

He collects cattle excrement from farmers in surrounding villages, paying them 40 yuan per cubic meter in cash. The farmers can also exchange fertilizer with excrement directly.

"The cattle breeding industry here is expanding very fast. The whole Xinglong Town has 55,000 heads of cattle and 5,200 cattle-raising households, so the excrement has become a problem," said Wang.

"Some years ago, we were taught free by some government experts how to turn excrement into fertilizer," he added.

The "bank" is not only aimed at making economic profits but also helping increase the income of some local farmers who have been lifted out of poverty less than two years ago.

With a permanent reserve of 60,000 cubic meters of excrement, Wang's company also sells its products in the local market and neighboring Shaanxi Province, making a profit of about 1 million yuan each year.

Wang Zhiyu, the Party chief of Xinglong Township, said the "cow dung bank" is an innovation in developing green farming and raising the living standard of farmers.

"It helps crop and cattle farming, contributes to green farming by reducing chemical fertilizers, cuts pollution sources, and improves the environment in rural areas," he said.