NANJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Joergen Lindberg, a 56-year-old Dane, never imagined that he would come to China and become a known swineherd.
Lindberg worked for a large pig-farming company in Denmark and had worked in the industry for more than 30 years before being appointed to head the construction and operation of a pig-farming project in China in 2012.
Lindberg, now CEO of Lianyungang Dan Yu Pig Breeding Technology Co., Ltd. and Lianyungang Scandinavian Farms Pig Industries Ltd., accepted the appointment within days and went to build the pig farm in Guanyun County in the city of Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province.
"Guanyun County boasts a good natural environment for quality control and it is close to the Yangtze River Delta, one of the biggest consumer markets in China," he said.
To produce high-quality hogs, Lindberg maintains a high biosafety standard in running his pig farms. Every worker must bathe, be disinfected and change their clothing before entering the hoggery. There are also strict procedures for disinfection, hog transportation and swine fever prevention.
To help minimize the environmental impact of his farms, he built a system that collects and processes pig slurry which can help turn the slurry into organic fertilizer.
So far, Scandinavian Farms has built four modern pig farms in Guanyun, with an annual hog production of 420,000 head.
China's improved environment guarantees higher quality and helps fetch a good price for hogs, Lindberg said. "The sky is bluer and the waters turn clearer here as more and more factories in Guanyun have introduced environmental protection facilities."
Lindberg has become close with many of his Chinese peers, sharing with them his experience from pig farming in Denmark, including scientific management, modern technology and environmental standards. Large-scale pig farms in China are turning more modern and environmentally friendly, he said.
"The vast population in China leads to high demand for pork, and the strong desire for high-quality pork among the younger generation means a great opportunity for Danish pig-raising enterprises."
The visibly improved business environment in China is also a factor behind Lindberg's determination to take root in the country.
The COVID-19 epidemic affected operations of Lindberg's pig farms earlier this year. "We got into trouble in fields like sanitation inspection and transportation of newly imported breeding pigs," he said, noting that normal production was previously delayed for three months.
Thankfully, the local departments of agriculture, police and customs have helped him overcome the difficulties. The import of 700 breeding pigs was finally concluded in late June as the epidemic eased, helping recover production at his pig farms.
"The Chinese government always prioritizes the benefit of the people over other things, with efficient and orderly epidemic prevention and control," Lindberg said. He added that he would continue to help promote cooperation between Denmark and China in the future, not only in pig farming, but also in other fields. Enditem
