Hubei Safe, Sustainable and Smart Agriculture Project Social Assessment Report

World Bank-financed Project

Public Disclosure Authorized

Public Disclosure Authorized Hubei Safe, Sustainable and Smart Agriculture Project Social Assessment Report

Public Disclosure Authorized

Public Disclosure Authorized Hubei Project Management Office (PMO)

October 2019

Contents 1 Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Background ...... 1 1.2 SA Tasks ...... 5 1.3 SA Methods ...... 5 1.3.1 Organized interview and literature collection ...... 6 1.3.2 FGD ...... 6 1.3.3 Key informant interview ...... 7 1.3.4 Questionnaire survey ...... 8 1.3.5 Field investigation ...... 10 1.4 Key objectives of SA ...... 10 2 Project Overview ...... 11 2.1 Definition of project area ...... 11 2.2 Local socioeconomic profile ...... 11 2.2.1 Geographic location ...... 11 2.2.2 Economic status ...... 12 2.2.3 Population...... 13 2.2.4 Ethnic minority population ...... 15 2.2.5 Baseline socioeconomic data ...... 15 2.2.6 Local organizations and IAs ...... 16 2.2.7 List of social sensitive sites ...... 17 3 Public Participation Process ...... 20 3.1 Stakeholder identification ...... 20 3.1.1 Primary stakeholders ...... 20 3.1.2 Secondary stakeholders...... 20 3.2 Public participation process ...... 21 3.2.1 Project information disclosure ...... 21 3.2.2 Field investigation ...... 21 3.2.3 FGD ...... 21 3.2.4 Key informant interview ...... 22 3.2.5 Questionnaire survey ...... 22 3.3 Stakeholder demand analysis ...... 23 3.3.1 Needs for the Project ...... 23 3.3.2 High activity and willingness of low income population for the Project ...... 24 3.3.3 Strong participation willingness of women ...... 25 3.3.4 Improved awareness of the Project among local officials and residents ...... 25 3.3.5 High support level of local residents for the Project...... 25 4 Social Impact Analysis...... 26 4.1 Positive impacts ...... 26 4.1.1 Increasing the utilization rate of idle rural land and agricultural profitability ...... 26 4.1.2 Improving the quality and safety of farm products, and farming output and yield ...... 26 4.1.3 Improving infrastructure and public service facilities ...... 27 4.1.4 Improving the ecological and living environment ...... 27 4.1.5 Helping villagers learn advanced cultivation and breeding techniques ...... 27 4.1.6 Promoting both returned start-up business and poverty alleviation ...... 27

I 4.2 Negative impacts ...... 27 4.2.1 Potential LA and HD impacts ...... 27 4.2.2 Potential natural and social impacts during construction and operation ...... 28 5 Poverty Analysis ...... 29 5.1 Current situation of poverty ...... 29 5.1.1 Hubei Province ...... 29 5.1.2 Project area (counties / county-level cities / districts) ...... 29 5.1.3 MLS ...... 30 5.2 Causes of poverty ...... 30 5.3 Local poverty reduction measures ...... 30 5.4 Needs of the poor for the Project ...... 31 5.5 Impacts of the Project on the poor ...... 31 6 Gender Analysis ...... 33 6.1 Local female population ...... 33 6.2 Current situation of local women...... 33 6.2.1 Age composition ...... 33 6.2.2 Educational level ...... 33 6.2.3 Occupation composition ...... 34 6.2.4 Social status ...... 35 6.3 Women’s needs and expectations ...... 35 6.3.1 Relationship between women and agriculture ...... 35 6.3.2 Women support the Project more strongly and are more confident in the Project...... 36 6.3.3 Women expect more employment and income increasing opportunities from the Project...... 36 6.3.4 Women have a strong demand for public participation...... 37 6.4 Project impacts on women ...... 37 6.4.1 Positive impacts ...... 37 6.4.2 Negative impacts ...... 38 7 Social Action Plan and Implementation ...... 39 7.1 Organizational setup and responsibilities for social management ...... 39 7.2 Social Action Plan ...... 40 7.2.1 Reducing LA and HD risks ...... 40 7.2.2 Extending agricultural skills training for SFC members to nearby farmers ...... 40 7.2.3 Giving play to the leading role of SFCs ...... 40 7.2.4 Avoiding secondary risks rationally, and giving priority to technical guidance ...... 41 7.2.5 Advocating differentiated cultivation to avoid pests and diseases ...... 41 7.2.6 Making jobs first available to local female labor ...... 41 7.2.7 Taking appropriate measures to reduce construction impacts ...... 41 7.3 Public participation plan ...... 43 8. Grievance Redress and M&E ...... 45 8.1 Grievance Redress ...... 45 8.2 M&E ...... 45 Appendix 1: Summary of FGDs with Residents ...... 46 Appendix 2: Summary of Field Investigation ...... 48 Appendix 3: Summary of Interviewees ...... 49

II Appendix 4: Fieldwork Photos ...... 49 Appendix 5: Identification of Resettlement Impacts ...... 51

List of Tables Table 1-1 Scope of the Project ...... 3 Table 1-2 Summary of organizational interviews...... 6 Table 1-3 Summary of FGDs and participants...... 7 Table 1-4 Summary of key informant interviews ...... 8 Table 1-5 Distribution of questionnaire survey samples ...... 9 Table 1-6 Basic information of valid samples...... 9 Table 2-1 Key social and economic development indicators of project counties / county-level cities / districts (2018) ...... 13 Table 2-2 Summary of population of project counties / county-level cities / districts (0,000) ...... 14 Table 2-3 Baseline socioeconomic data of the project area ...... 15 Table 2-4 Local organizations and IAs ...... 16 Table 2-5 Summary of resettlement impacts ...... 17 Table 2-6 List of social sensitive sites ...... 18 Table 3-1 Summary of public participation activities ...... 23 Table 3-2 Willingness of women to participate in the Project ...... 25 Table 3-3 Support of local residents for the Project ...... 25 Table 4-1 Positive impacts of the Project perceived by farmers ...... 26 Table 4-2 Positive impacts of the Project perceived by SFC members ...... 26 Table 4-3 Impacts of permanent LA ...... 28 Table 4-4 Negative impacts of the Project perceived by farmers ...... 28 Table 4-5 Negative impacts of the Project perceived by SFC members ...... 28 Table 5-1 Distribution of local poor population...... 29 Table 5-2 Local MLS population ...... 30 Table 6-1 Local female population ...... 33 Table 6-2 Educational levels of samples by gender ...... 34 Table 6-3 Occupations of samples by gender ...... 34 Table 7-7-1 Social Action Plan and Gender Action Plan ...... 42 Table 7-7-2 Public participation plan of the Project ...... 43

List of Figures Figure 1-1 FGDs (upper left: Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC; upper right: Xiangming Tealeaf SFC; lower left: Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC; lower right: Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd.) ...... 7 Figure 1-2 Key informant interviews...... 8 Figure 1-3 Questionnaire survey ...... 9 Figure 1-4 Field investigation (upper left: Tongcheng County; upper right: Gong’an County; lower left: Tongcheng County; lower right: Tongcheng County) ...... 10 Figure 2-1 Administrative map of Hubei Province ...... 11 Figure 3-1 Project information disclosure ...... 21 Figure 3-2 Field investigation ...... 21 Figure 3-3 FGDs ...... 22 Figure 3-4 Key informant interviews...... 22

III Figure 3-5 Questionnaire survey ...... 22 Figure 6-1 Age and gender distribution of samples ...... 33 Figure 6-2 Importance of the Project for the family by gender ...... 35 Figure 6-3 Overall evaluation of agricultural development among women ...... 36 Figure 6-4 Support for the Project ...... 36 Figure 7-7-1 Organizational chart for the Social Action Plan ...... 40

Abbreviations

ESS - Environmental and Social Standard HD - House Demolition LA - Land Acquisition FGD - Focus Group Discussion M&E - Monitoring and Evaluation MLS - Minimum Living Security PMO - Project Management Office RAP - Resettlement Action Plan RPF - Resettlement Policy Framework SFC - Specialized Farmers’ Cooperative PRC - People’s Republic of China

Units

Currency unit = Yuan (RMB) US$1.00 = RMB6.33 1 hectare = 15 mu

IV 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Hubei province is home for 59 million people, covering a total land area of 185,900 km2. In 2016, Hubei’s GDP was RMB 3,266.5 billion (ranking 7th among Chinese provinces), with a per capita GDP of RMB 55,196 (USD 8,133). Situated in the middle branch of the Yangtze River, with the fertile Yangtze-Han River Plain, Hubei Province is one of China’s leading agricultural producers, ranking in the top five provinces for rice, tea, vegetables, freshwater aquaculture, and oilseed production. Agriculture (including cropping, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries) accounts for a fifth of of the total provincial GDP and provides livelihoods or employment for some 15% of the province’s population.

Hubei has ambitious goals for agricultural development. As articulated in the provincial 13th five Year Plan and in the 2018-2020 Specialty Agricultural Produce Development Plan, the Hubei province aspires to take advantage of an unmet national demand for safe and high-quality food products from an increasingly urbanizing consumer base. The Province aims to become a national leader in agricultural sustainability, food safety, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Hubei has the potential to become one of China’s top producers of “cleaner and greener” food, by differentiating itself through the production and environmental practices applied, the quality of its products, and the integrity of its institutional arrangements for food governance.

China’s approach to agricultural development over recent decades has been driven by “The Three Ss”: security, sustainability, and safety—with the emphasis primarily on the first “S”. As noted above, this approach has yielded dramatic results in terms of food security, as well as economic growth, poverty reduction, and diversification of production. However, these production gains were achieved primarily through heavy intensification of production through increased use of chemical inputs. This has brought major environmental challenges. China produces and uses more synthetic nitrogen fertilizer than any other country, both on an absolute and per hectare basis (World Bank, 2017). Excessive use and run-off of fertilizer has been a major contributor to the eutrophication of many Chinese lakes and rivers, resulting in major fish kills, biodiversity loss, and loss of recreational services. The misuse of fertilizer contributes is one of the reasons why the China’s agriculture is a dominant source of water pollution.

There is concern that China’s farm structure—with hundreds of millions of farmers exploiting plots of less than a hectare—is contributing to the problem. Older or absentee farmers opt to apply larger amounts of fertilizers all at once instead of distributing smaller amounts over the entire crop cycle due to a lack of labor. Such farmers also tend to overuse pesticides, or use banned and highly toxic substances, raising the level of hazards in the food supply. Fragmented and small farms often do not avail farmers of adequate financial incentive to adopt new and more sustainable technologies and management practices. To address the challenges related to small farm size and employment in the non-farm sector, the Chinese government has set a clear policy direction for professionalization and modernization of its agriculture sector.

Hubei Province is a prime example of the broader trends. In an initial project proposal submitted to national authorities and the World Bank, the Hubei provincial government has requested the Bank’s assistance in addressing the challenges it faces with potential contamination

1 of agri-food products, and the lack of traceability systems and consistent standards. Many of the challenges described in the proposal derive not from microbial contamination due to improper handling, processing and storage of food products, but from the unsustainable production problems plaguing the sector more generally. For example, Hubei ranks third in the nation in fertilizer use (Mengyao Hou, et al., 2017). A review of soil sample surveys found that 20-30% of Hubei agricultural land is contaminated with heavy metals, ranking near the top of provinces with the highest such incidence. While industrial pollution is a leading source of heavy metal contamination of soil and water, the overuse of pesticides is also a contributor. An estimated one million square kilometers of farmland have experienced soil contamination, including excessive levels heavy metals, due to pesticide overuse. Heavy use of pesticides has been especially common in rice, vegetable, and tea production. Meanwhile, climate change impacts are expected to be especially significant in central and south-eastern China, which includes Hubei.

Component 1: Agricultural Risk Assessment, Management, and Communications. This component centers on the development of safe, sustainable, and climate-smart production and processing standards, the strengthening of the evidence base for improved environmental, climatic, and food safety risk management, the strengthening of institutional capacity for developing and effectively utilizing this evidence base, and the development of an improved dialogue with consumers regarding food safety hazards and risks. The activities in this component include (a) capacity building and training to strengthen of institutional capacities to complement the investments agriculture product quality and safety inspection equipment and facilities; (b) investments in digital technologies for food safety and environmental monitoring, including big data platform and support for the strengthening of product/raw material traceability systems, enhancing analytical capabilities and applications for increased surveillance and analysis of food safety risks, with appropriate linkage with environmental and food safety risk data collection and training and capacity building for analysis; (c) development of provincial standards, including mainstreaming climate smart agriculture and Hubei GAP for multiple commodities, the preparation of the technical protocols for a carbon trading system; and (d) risk communications to strengthen the accountability of producers and regulatory authorities, and roles and responsibilities of consumers in ensuring the safety of food.

A range of GEF activities would be included under this component which would focus on: (i) incremental investments that would extend beyond private food safety improvements to benefit the global environment, such as development of methodologies and a system for monitoring GHG emissions from agriculture, establishment of protocols with a view to a potential future emissions trading scheme, reduced nutrient runoff into waterways, and reduced use of harmful pesticides; and (ii) to promote incremental environmental actions that make the most sense at the provincial—rather than county or enterprise—level, such as development of a Hubei Code of Good Agricultural Practices and monitoring and traceability systems.

Component 2: Demonstration and Replication of Safe and Sustainable Agricultural Practices. This component will support the demonstration of safe, sustainable, and climate-smart practices in the agri-food system, and the scale up adoption of these 3S practices to reduce the vulnerability of agriculture and its own adverse impacts on the environment and human health. The project financed investments under this component will contribute to climate change mitigation and/or adaptation. This would involve three sub-components: Subcomponent 1: Demonstrations of

2 Innovative Sustainable Production Practices. This subcomponent supports investments in the productive infrastructure and equipment needed for a diverse range of demonstration schemes involving GAP (safe and sustainable) and climate-smart applications (examples include all-season access roads, efficient irrigation and drainage systems, machinery for straw return). Subcomponent 2: Scaling-up Sustainable Production Practices. The activities under this subcomponent will strengthen service delivery systems for the supply of safe and green agriculture inputs to farmers, provide additional support services, farmer training and infrastructure to enable scaling-up of GAP and climate smart applications by farmers and cooperative members beyond demonstration areas. The project activities include support to developing improved technical guidelines for GAP for sustainable cropping systems of the project targeted value chain crops; implementation and replication of sustainable production practices supported through farmer training, extension and field activities, contributing to biodiversity, soil and water conservation, reduced chemical use, climate change adaptability, emission reduction and increased production/improved livelihoods. Subcomponent 3: Strengthen Farmer Cooperatives. Under this subcomponent, the project supports training and technical assistance to strengthen cooperatives in their technical, financial and commercial management. The support focuses on strengthening the governance of cooperatives including entry-exit norms for membership, dilution of investors equity in favor of small holders and farmer equity, equitable benefit sharing. The project also finances investments by the cooperatives in green marketing infrastructure, where this is necessary to realize the commercial benefits from improved farming practices and therefore strengthen the incentives for farmer adoption.

Component 3: Project and Knowledge Management. In addition to conventional project management and M&E functions, this component would include activities in knowledge management, to gather and share the experiences and lessons learned from the project (such as technical innovations, cost-benefits of different agricultural practices on different scales, and cost effectiveness of different regulatory oversight activities), both in relation to risk assessment and monitoring and to the demonstration and scaling-up successful CSA and GAP practices. Detailed project activities will be decided at a later stage, and current social impact assessment is based on the preliminary proposal and feasibility study report covering activities in the first 18 months of project to be submitted to NDRC for approval. Assessment is conducted based on visits to 11 counties included in the first batch of activities. The tassessment covered 11 specialized farmers’ cooperatives (SFCs) in 11 counties / county-level cities / districts in Hubei Province, namely Honghu City, Jingshan City, Zhongxiang City, Duodao District in Jingmen City, Yiling District in Yichang City, Xian’an District in Xianing City, Tongcheng County, Tongshan County, Nanzhang County, Gong’an County, and Xiaoan District in Xiaogan City. The area mainly includes tealeaf, rice, fruit/vegetable and stockbreeding areas. There are 34 planned SFCs in 11 counties / county-level cities / districts. See Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 Scope of the Project County / Prefecture county-level SFC Township Village -level city city / district Economic Jingshan City Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC Yihe, Jiangjiadayan Development Zone Jingmen Zhongxiang City Changlong Cultivation SFC Changshou Town Huangpo Duodao District Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd. Tuanlinpu Town / Jingzhou Honghu City Chunlu Crop Cultivation SFC Wulin Town Wangjiazhou, Siwumen

3 Gong’an County Colorful Sunshine Land Joint-stock SFC Zhangzhuangpu Town Xingang, Xinrong Nanzhang Xiangyang Xiangming Tealeaf SFC Xiaoyan Town Zhouwan County Xian’an District Green Cycle Eco-agriculture Co., Ltd. Shuangxiqiao Town Jiushan Tongshan Banqiao Loquat SFC Dafan Town Dakeng Xianning County Tongcheng Sizhuang Xiang Huajia Tianjian Pig SFC County Shadui Town / Xiaogan Xiaonan District Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. Xihe Town Yunfeng Longquan Town Tumen, Shuifumiao Bio-industry Park / Yichang Yiling District Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC Yaqueling Town Jinhe Taipingxi Town Huangjiachong Planned SFCs Qianchangsheng Land Joint-stock SFC Qianchang Town Jingtiao, Wuling, Liaochong Jingshan City Shendi Hen Breeding SFC Qianchang Town Shuling New Layout Grain Cultivation SFC Huji Town Pingyan Longlife and Safety Cultivaiton SFC Changshou Town Huangpo Chunyuan Crop Cultivation SFC Union Changtan Town Xianfeng Qianye Edible Fungus SFC Zhangji Town Yunlingzhai Jingmen Kangji, Zhangdang, Lianli Aquaculture SFC Wenji Town Zhongxiang City Yanshan, Weihu Xianbaxi Crop SFC Fengle Town Shengang Yinong Straw SFC Wenji Town / Panfeng Selenium-rich High-oleic-acid Rape Fengle Town Longquangang Cultivation SFC Zhongxiang Municipal Agriculture Bureau All townships / Wanquan Town / Huagui Aquatic Vegetable Cultivation SFC Fengkou Town Tujing Honghu City Xiaogang Xinhongye Food Co., Ltd. Lianzixi, Zhenyi Administrative Area Jingzhou Tongqiao, Baihe, Shizuimen, Lily SFC Zhangzhuangpu Town Shimenzui, Fenghuang Gong’an County Xinsheng Land Join-stock SFC Mengjiaxi Town Qinglong Shenjindu Group Co., Ltd. Shikou Town Xuanshuitan Meilingbao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd. Zhangzhuangpu Town Fenghuang, Xingang Nanzhang Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC Donggong Town Shangquanping Xiangyang County Qinglianghe Vegetable Cultivation SFC Limiao Town Zhaodian Shentong Stockbreeding Co., Ltd. Tingsiqiao Town Huangjingtang Xian’an District Wen’s Stockbreeding Co., Ltd. Shuangxiqiao Town Jiushan Banqiao Loquat SFC Dafan Town Banqiao Tongshan Hongmao Ecological Cultivation and County Jiugongshan Town Fanzhong, Wangjiafan Breeding SFC Jiujingfeng Tealeaf Cultivation SFC Shadui Town Gangbei Junshui Town, Jinshan Tealeaf SFC Youfang Jinshan Xiang Xianning Gaofeng Organic Tea SFC Magang Town Gaofeng, Cheng’ao Yuegushan Tealeaf SFC Daping Xiang Xiafan, Yuegu Tongcheng Yunzhi Ecological Farm Guandao Town Ligang County Xinhongxin Pig Raising SFC Junshui Town Gumingshan Tanghu Town Xinzhuang Xiaguang Tealeaf SFC Sizhuang Xiang Sibei Shinan Town Huating High-quality Rice Development SFC Union Junshui Town Shangkuo, Wanchuanzui Xiaogan Xiaonan District Xiangrun Rice Cultivation SFC Dougang Town Chaoyang Yunhong Orange SFC Yaqueling Town Yuntai Yichang Yiling District Xingxiang Farm Product SFC Xiaoxita Town Guanzhuang Yihong Early Tea SFC Taipingxi Town Longtanping, Huangjiachong

The Project will have social, ecological, economic and energy benefits. 1) Social benefits: The Project will promote the development of new type agriculture represented by SFCs and family farms, which can allocate agricultural resources scientifically, build farm product bases, establish diversified social service organizations, and relieve employment pressure and social conflicts. 2) Ecological benefits: The Project will strengthen the monitoring of agricultural production, rationalize the use of pesticides and fertilizers to ensure efficacy and safety, protect the environment, and realize sustainable agricultural development. 3) Economic benefits: The Project will further expand the scale of cultivation and stockbreeding, optimize agricultural structure, and realize healthy, efficient, safe, ecological and sustainable agriculture. It is expected that pesticide and fertilizer consumption will be reduced by over 60%, and the high-quality rate of farm products will exceed 90% in the project area. 4) Energy benefits: The Project will use advanced and reliable new processes, technologies, equipment and materials to realize sustainable agriculture and product quality control, with focus on resource conservation, environmental protection, low consumption and emissions, and high efficiency. In sum, the Project will be significant for promoting the agricultural development and reform of Hubei Province, realizing sustainable agriculture, and increasing agricultural output and income. Demonstration areas will be established to extend experience to other parts of Hubei and China, and the world.

1.2 SA Tasks This SA aims to learn different stakeholders’ expectations and needs, and identify the Project’s positive and negative impacts through fieldwork, thereby helping the owner take a series of measures to ensure the extensive and fair participation of stakeholders, and maximize the Project’s benefits. Therefore, the main objectives of this SA are: 1) Identifying primary stakeholders, and learning their interests and needs through extensive participation; 2) Learning the Project’s potential social impacts, including positive and negative impacts, and potential social risks; 3) Learning attitudes of women, poor population, etc. to the Project, and identifying the Project’s impacts on them; 4) Strengthening public participation, giving advice on optimizing the project design, and establishing information disclosure and grievance redress mechanisms; 5) Developing social and gender action plans to evade project risks and realize the project objectives. In addition, project awareness among the public will be increased and public participation promoted through project information communication, experience sharing, etc. during public consultation.

1.3 SA Methods The task force conducted fieldwork in the 11 selected counties / county-level cities / districts with the support of the Hubei and county / county-level city / district PMOs during August 25-September 12, 2019.

5 1.3.1 Organized interview and literature collection A total of 110 interviews were conducted with the local agriculture bureaus, statistics bureaus, natural resources and planning bureaus, labor and social security bureaus, poverty reduction offices, ethnic and religious affairs bureaus, women’s federations, civil affairs bureaus, etc., and relevant basic data and literatures collected. See Table 1-2.

Table 1-2 Summary of organizational interviews County / county- Interviews Details of organizations level city / district Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Yiling District 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Jingshan City 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Honghu City 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Zhongxiang City 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Nanzhang County 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Gong’an County 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Tongcheng County 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Tongshan County 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Xian’an District 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Duodao District 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Agriculture bureau, statistics bureau, natural resources and planning Xiaonan District 10 bureau, labor and social security bureau, poverty reduction office, women’s federation, ethnic and religious affairs bureau, civil affairs bureau Total 110 ------

1.3.2 FGD FGDs were held to learn local residents’ needs for the Project, the Project’s impacts on them, and their comments and suggestions, including women, the poor, vulnerable groups1, local residents, students, village heads, etc.

1 According to the Bank’s operational policy OP4.12, vulnerable groups in China context are defined as the disabled, five-guarantee households, women-headed households, MLS households, etc.

Figure 1-1 FGDs (upper left: Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC; upper right: Xiangming Tealeaf SFC; lower left: Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC; lower right: Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd.)

120 FGDs were held in the project area, with 680 participants in total, including 203 women, accounting for 29.85%; 257 old people, accounting for 37.79%; 133 vulnerable people, accounting for 19.56%; and 87 village committee and villager representatives, accounting for 12.79%. See Table 1-3.

Table 1-3 Summary of FGDs and participants Participants Total County / Village committee Vulnerable county-level city / Women Old people and villager Partici people FGDs district representatives pants / FGDs / FGDs / FGDs / FGDs Yiling District 16 2 22 2 9 1 4 1 51 6 Jingshan City 16 3 21 3 8 1 6 1 51 8 Honghu City 17 4 23 4 9 1 7 1 56 10 Zhongxiang City 28 8 48 8 18 3 13 3 107 22 Nanzhang County 18 4 26 4 12 2 9 2 65 12 Gong’an County 20 4 22 4 10 2 8 2 60 12 Tongcheng County 17 3 18 3 9 1 9 2 53 9 Tongshan County 20 4 34 4 16 2 11 2 81 12 Xian’an District 18 3 18 3 13 2 7 2 56 10 Duodao District 17 3 9 3 15 2 6 2 47 10 Xiaonan District 16 3 16 3 14 2 7 1 53 9 Total 203 41 257 41 133 19 87 19 680 120

1.3.3 Key informant interview Key informant interviews were conducted at the county (district), township (sub-district) and village (community) levels to provide inputs into project design and implementation.

Figure 1-2 Key informant interviews

187 key informants were interviewed in total, including 12 in Yiling District; 13 in Jingshan City; 13 in Honghu City; 25 in Zhongxiang City; 20 in Nanzhang County; 19 in Gong’an County; 24 in Tongcheng County; 21 in Tongshan County; 23 in Xian’an District and 17 in Duodao District. See Table 1-4.

Table 1-4 Summary of key informant interviews County / county-level Organization heads Village officials Total city / district Yiling District 8 12 20 Jingshan City 7 6 13 Honghu City 9 4 13 Zhongxiang City 15 10 25 Nanzhang County 13 7 20 Gong’an County 13 6 19 Tongcheng County 14 10 24 Tongshan County 12 9 21 Xian’an District 13 10 23 Duodao District 10 7 17 Total 114 81 195

1.3.4 Questionnaire survey The task force conducted a questionnaire survey by probability proportionate to size sampling, with 384 samples at a confidence level of 95% and a maximum absolute error (d) of 5%. 400 copies were completed and 400 valid copies recovered, accounting for 100%.

Figure 1-3 Questionnaire survey

See Table 1-5 for the distribution of the samples of the questionnaire survey.

Table 1-5 Distribution of questionnaire survey samples County / county-level Number of copies Percent (%) city / district Yiling District 26 6.50% Jingshan City 26 6.50% Honghu City 31 7.75% Zhongxiang City 83 20.75% Nanzhang County 12 3% Gong’an County 30 7.50% Tongcheng County 36 9% Tongshan County 55 13.75% Xian’an District 11 2.75% Duodao District 39 9.75% Xiaonan District 51 12.75% Total 400 100%

The questionnaire database was established and analyzed using the IBM SPSS software. See Table 1-6.

Table 1-6 Basic information of valid samples Indicator Values Gender Male, 63%; female, 37% 18-24 years, 4.25%; 25-34 years, 18%; 35-44 years, 17%; 45-54 years, Age 33.75%; 55-64 years, 18.25%; 65 years or above, 8.75% Urban/rural Rural, 98.75%; urban 1.25% Educational Illiterate, 6%; primary school, 23.5%; junior high school, 31%; senior high level school / secondary technical school, 24.5%; junior college or above, 15% Occupation Civil servant, 0.25%; worker of public institution, 0.25%; worker of enterprise,

9 17.75%; self-employer, 5.5%; freelancer, 2.75%; unemployed, 0%; student, 0%; retiree, 0.25%; farmer, 73.25%; other, 0%

1.3.5 Field investigation The assessment team conducted field investigations to selected areas to gain more practical and objective understanding. See Appendix 2.

Figure 1-4 Field investigation (upper left: Tongcheng County; upper right: Gong’an County; lower left: Tongcheng County; lower right: Tongcheng County)

1.4 Key objectives of SA This SA has the following key objectives: 1) Identifying primary stakeholders, and learning their attitudes to and needs for the Project, and local potential issues, such as land transfer, crops and trend, and food safety; 2) Identifying the Project’s potential social impacts, such as fare affordability, key sensitive points, key concerns, potential project impacts, willingness for participation, minority identification, impacts of non-local laborers, evaluation of local employment systems, and factors potentially affecting social stability; 3) Analyzing the Project’s impacts on poor population, especially their needs for land transfer mode, price, crop type and employment, and willingness and ability to participate in the Project; 4) Analyzing the Project’s impacts on women and their needs for the Project; 5) Learning information disclosure and public participation, including the APs’ awareness of, support for and participation in the Project; 6) Including social factors in the project design, and proposing measures to evade or reduce negative impacts; and 7) Developing a social management action, so that urban and rural residents are aware of and participate in the Project as much as possible.

10 2 Project Overview 2.1 Definition of project area The Project potentially covers 45 SFCs in 11 counties / county-level cities / districts (Honghu City, Jingshan City, Zhongxiang City, Duodao District in Jingmen City, Yiling District in Yichang City, Xian’an District in Xianing City, Tongcheng County, Tongshan County, Nanzhang County, Gong’an County, and Xiaoan District in Xiaogan City). The Project involves Qianchang Town and Economic Development Zone in Jingshan City; Changtan, Wenji, Changshou, Huji, Zhangji and Fengle Towns in Zhongxiang City; Tuanlinpu Town in Duodao District; Wulin Town, Wanquan Town, Fengkou Town and Xiaogang Administrative Area in Honghu City; Zhangzhuangpu, Mengjiaxi and Shikou Towns in Gong’an County; Donggong, Xiaoyan and Limiao Towns in Nanzhang County; Xian’an District in Xianning City; Dafan and Jiugongshan Towns in Tongshan County; Shadui Town, Junshui Town, Jinshan Xiang, Magang Town, Daping Xiang, Guandao Town, Junshui Town, Sizhuang Xiang, Tanghu Town, Sizhuang Xiang and Shinan Town in Tongcheng County; Xihe and Dougang Towns in Xiaonan District, Xiaogan City; Yaqueling, Longquan, Yaqueling, Taipingxi and Xiaoxita Towns in Yiling District, Yichang City, as shown in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1 Administrative map of Hubei Province

The Project covers 11 existing SFCs and 34 planned SFCs in 11 counties / county-level cities / districts 11 SFCs. Therefore, the Project will be significant for promoting the agricultural development and reform of Hubei Province, realizing sustainable agriculture, and increasing agricultural output and income.

2.2 Local socioeconomic profile 2.2.1 Geographic location The Project covers 11 counties / county-level cities / districts in 6 cities in Hubei Province. Yiling District, Yichang City governs 9 towns, two Xiangs, one sub-district and one pilot area, with a land area of 3,450 km2. At the end of 2018, the district had a resident population of 531,000 and a registered population of 522,300. The district has rich nonmetallic minerals, such as

11 phosphate ore, granite, limestone and boltonite. Honghu City is affiliated to Jingzhou City, and located in central southern Hubei, with a land area of 2,519 km2, including a cultivated area of 64,200 hectares. At the end of 2018, the city had a registered population of 918,200 and a resident population of 809,300. The city is an important node in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and one of the second group of pilot cities of urban-rural integration of Hubei. Xiaonan District, Xiaogan City is located the northern Jianghan Plain, and the core of the Wuhan metropolitan area, with a land area of 1,020 km2 and a population of 950,000, governing 16 townships (sub-districts) and a province-level economic development zone, with a land area of 101,832 hectares, including 55,447 hectares of cultivated land. The district is a national grain production base, a key vegetable production base of Hubei, and also an important supply base of farm and sideline products of Wuhan and Xiaogan Cities. Nanzhang County is located in northwestern Hubei, and has four water systems and a Hydropower reserve of 143,000 kWh. Gong’an County is affiliated to Jingzhou City, and located in central southern Hubei, and the southern Jianghan Plain, governing 16 townships, with a land area of 2,258 km2 and a population of 1.07 million. It is a national key grain, cotton and oil production base. Xianning City is affiliated to Xianning City, and located in southeastern Hubei, known for Osmanthus fragrans, bamboo, tea, ramie and hot springs. Tongcheng County is located in southeastern Hubei, and the junction of Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi Provinces, known for tea, pigs, mica, abrasive cloth, medicinal materials, etc. Tongshan County is affiliated to Xianning City and located in southeastern Hubei, with a land area of 3,680 km2, including 266,000 mu of cultivated land and 1.1 million mu of woodland. Zhongxiang City is a county-level city located in central Hubei, with a land area of 4,488 km2, boasting rich water resources, a moderate climate and fertile soil. Jingmen City is located in central Hubei, with a land area of 12,400 km2, accounting for 6.67% of Hubei’s land area. The city is a national demonstration area of modern agriculture, and a national key grain, cotton and oil production base, and ranks top in Hubei in terms of rice, cotton, oil, fruit, pig and aquatic product outputs. Jingshan City is a county-level city affiliated to Jingmen City, located in central Wuhan and the northern Jianghan Plain, with a land area of 3,520 km2 and a registered population of 637,100. 2.2.2 Economic status Among the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts, Yiling District has the highest GDP of 57.339 billion yuan, while Tongshan County has the lowest GDP of 11.8273 billion yuan; Yiling District has the highest fiscal revenue of 8.301 billion yuan, while Tongshan County has the lowest fiscal revenue of 985 million yuan. Among the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts, only the per capita annual income of Xiaonan District, Duodao District and Yiling District is higher than the average of Hubei Province (34,455 yuan), and only the per capita disposable income of rural residents of Tongshan County and Tongcheng County is lower than the average of Hubei Province (14,978 yuan). See Table 2-1.

12 Table 2-1 Key social and economic development indicators of project counties / county-level cities / districts (2018) Land Disposable Disposable GDP Fiscal Percent of fiscal Division area income of urban income of rural (00m revenue revenue to (km2) residents (yuan) residents (yuan) yuan) (00m yuan) provincial total (%) Yiling District 3401.26 36425 20044 573.39 83.01 1.46 Jingshan City 3520 32655 18799 367.76 21.81 0.38 Honghu City 2519 30350 17005 265.13 14.51 0.25 Zhongxiang City 4488 32678 19279 495.22 21.98 0.39 Nanzhang County 3859 31538 15828 273.65 16.99 0.29 Gong’an County 2258 31170 18115 270.91 20.31 0.36 Tongcheng County 1172 28813 14863 136.50 11.34 0.20 Tongshan County 2680 25343 11389 118.27 9.85 0.17 Xian’an District 1503.8 33467 16655 313.02 18.70 0.33 Duodao District 572.39 36259 19495 255.52 25.21 0.44 Xiaonan District 1020 35016 18429 253.35 30.38 0.53 Hubei Province 185900 34455 14978 39366.55 5684.85 / Source: statistical yearbooks or statistical bulletins on national economic and social development

2.2.3 Population At the end of 2018, Hubei Province had 14.7925 million registered households with 59.17 million persons, including 30.0222 million males, accounting for 50.74%; 29.1478 million females, accounting for 49.26% (male to female ratio 104.4:100); an agricultural population of 23.4905 million, accounting for 39.7%; a nonagricultural population of 35.6795 million, accounting for 60.3%, and a population density of 318 persons/km2. At the end of 2018, Yiling District had 116,100 registered households with 522,300 persons, including 266,800 males, accounting for 51.08%; 255,500 females, accounting for 48.92% (male to female ratio 104.4:100); an agricultural population of 352,500, accounting for 67.49%; a nonagricultural population of 169,800, accounting for 32.51%; and a population density of 154 persons/km2. Jingshan City had 201,900 registered households with 630,500 persons, including 325,000 males, accounting for 51.55%; 305,500 females, accounting for 48.45% (male to female ratio 106.4:100); an agricultural population of 395,100, accounting for 62.66%; a nonagricultural population of 235,400, accounting for 37.34%; and a population density of 179 persons/km2. Honghu City had 290,700 registered households with 920,800 persons, including 492,300 males, accounting for 53.46%; 428,500 females, accounting for 46.54% (male to female ratio 114.9:100); an agricultural population of 596,600, accounting for 64.79%; a nonagricultural population of 324,200, accounting for 35.21%; and a population density of 366 persons/km2. Gong’an County had 313,300 registered households with 997,200 persons, including 598,300 males, accounting for 60%; 398,900 females, accounting for 40% (male to female ratio 150:100); an agricultural population of 675,300, accounting for 67.72%; a nonagricultural population of 321,900, accounting for 32.28%; and a population density of 442 persons/km2. Nanzhang County had 127,500 registered households with 573,700 persons, including 288,600 males, accounting for 50.31%; 285,100 females, accounting for 49.69% (male to female ratio 101.2:100); an agricultural population of 371,000, accounting for 64.67%, a nonagricultural population of 202,700, accounting for 35.33%; and a population density of 149 persons/km2. Tongcheng County had 152,800 registered households with 527,400 persons, including 316,400 males, accounting for 59.99%; 211,000 females, accounting for 40.01% (male to female ratio 150:100); an agricultural population of 392,600, accounting for 74.44%; a nonagricultural

13 population of 189,700, accounting for 35.97%; and a population density of 450 persons/km2. Tongshan County had 143,000 registered households with 485,900 persons, including 291,500 males, accounting for 59.99%; 194,400 females, accounting for 40.01% (male to female ratio 149.9:100); an agricultural population of 269,100, accounting for 55.38%; a nonagricultural population of 216,800, accounting for 46.62%; and a population density of 181 persons/km2. Xian’an District had 199,200 registered households with 628,500 persons, including 329,600 males, accounting for 52.44%; 298,900 females, accounting for 47.56% (male to female ratio 110.3:100); an agricultural population of 191,000, accounting for 30.39%; a nonagricultural population of 437,500, accounting for 69.61%; and a population density of 418 persons/km2. Duodao District had 341,400 registered households with 325,500 persons, including 168,700 males, accounting for 51.83%; 156,800 females, accounting for 48.17% (male to female ratio 107.6:100); an agricultural population of 265,900, accounting for 81.69%; a nonagricultural population of 59,600, accounting for 18.31%; and a population density of 569 persons/km2. Zhongxiang City had 233,400 registered households with 1.0504 million, including 534,600 males, accounting for 50.89%; 515,800 females, accounting for 49.11% (male to female ratio 103.6:100); an agricultural population of 661,700, accounting for 63%; a nonagricultural population of 388,700, accounting for 37%; and a population density of 234 persons/km2. Xiaonan District had 233,400 registered households with 839,000 persons, including 434,900 males, accounting for 51.84%; 404,100 females, accounting for 48.16% (male to female ratio 107.6:100); an agricultural population of 163,400, accounting for 19.48%; a nonagricultural population of 675,600, accounting for 80.52%; and a population density of 823 persons/km2. See Table 2-2.

Table 2-2 Summary of population of project counties / county-level cities / districts (0,000)

XiaonanDistrict

DuodaoDistrict

Hubei Province

JingshanCity

YilingDistrict

HonghuCity

Zhongxiang

Tongcheng

Nanzhang Tongshan

Gong

Xian

County County County County District

City Indicator

an ’

Year-end households (0,000) 11.61 20.19 29.07 31.33 12.75 15.28 14.3 19.92 34.14 23.34 23.23 1479.25 Year-end population (0,000) 52.23 63.05 92.08 99.72 57.37 52.74 48.59 62.85 32.55 105.04 83.90 5917 Male population (0,000) 26.68 32.50 49.23 59.83 28.86 31.64 29.15 32.96 16.87 53.46 43.49 3002.22 Female population (0,000) 25.55 30.55 42.85 39.89 28.51 21.10 19.44 29.89 15.68 51.58 40.41 2914.78 Population density (persons/km2) 154 179 366 442 149 450 181 418 569 234 823 318 Agricultural population (0,000) 35.25 39.51 59.66 67.53 37.10 39.26 26.91 19.10 26.59 66.17 16.34 2349.05 Nonagricultural population (0,000) 16.98 23.54 32.42 32.19 20.27 18.97 21.68 43.75 5.96 38.87 67.56 3567.95

14 2.2.4 Ethnic minority population Hubei is a province in which minority residents are scattered, and Han people are dominant. People with official ethnic minority registration belong to 55 ethnic minorities with a total population of nearly 2.47 million, accounting for 4.5% of Hubei’s population. From August 25 to September 12, 2019, the task force conducted a special survey on ethnic minorities in the project area to learn the ethnic composition of each project county / county-level city / district, identify minority villages, etc. 1) Organized interview and baseline survey: In the project area, minority residents are scattered, and Han people are dominant. Minority residents have moved here due to marriage, job transfer, business, etc. The number of people with ethnic minority registration status is 166 in the project area, accounting for 0.002% of the gross population of project area. However, these people have well adapted to local communities in terms of language, culture, and daily life. There is no ethnic minority satisfy the definition of the World Bank in the project area. 2) FGD: On August 28, 2019, at an FGD in Guanzhuang Village, Yiling District, the village committee found 4 minority residents at home (the other two were working outside), including two Tujia residents (one male and one female), one Mongolian resident (female) and a Miao resident (female). Among them, 3 (75%) are aware of and support the Project, and wish to participate in project construction. As far as they knew, there were few minority residents in the village. 3) Literature review: Statistics, reports, annals, etc. reflecting local population, ethnic groups, culture, customs, etc. were collected to learn the local minority profile and differences from Han people.

Based on the above assessment results, there is no ethnic minority presence as defined by the World Bank OP4.10.

2.2.5 Baseline socioeconomic data

Table 2-3 Baseline socioeconomic data of the project area

Zhongxia

Jingshan Jingshan

n County n County n County g

Xian

Tongsha Tongche Nanzhan

Gong

Xiaonan

Honghu Honghu

Duodao Duodao

District District County District District

ng City ng

Yiling

City City

ng Indicator ’ Total ’ an

Gross population (0,000) 92.08 99.72 62.84 82.9 48 41.66 63.05 32.55 57.37 52.15 105.88 738.2 Female population (0,000) 45.97 5.99 29.89 39.41 23.6 16.67 20.2 15.68 27.51 25.5 50.82 301.24 Direct beneficiary population 218766 16272 94300 23650 13000 6328 5130 11000 27000 7300 325000 747746 Female beneficiary population 101534 6508 43400 12034 5600 3210 2689 5300 11000 3100 157600 351975 Poor population 12309 15150 338 7998 920 21603 8655 18 241 40818 14269 122319 Expected poor population to be 9600 53233 11802 5438 82993 19922 736 2103 5400 172 36100 227499 reduced (0,000) Per capita disposable income 17005 18115 16655 18429 10170 14863 25100 19495 21471 25152 19300 / (yuan) Number of jobs generated 4300 1243 489 2107 1300 5864 560 100 4700 810 1800 23273 Number of jobs for women 2100 548 343 1406 450 2545 336 60 2900 640 720 12048 generated GDP (00m yuan) 265.13 270.91 313.02 259.8 118 136.5 367.76 266.49 273.65 573.39 463.26 3307.91 Agriculture (0,000 yuan) 140.65 65.97 28.88 32.6 18 24.35 47.41 11.15 45.5 61.67 131.5 607.68 Industry (0,000 yuan) 219.93 124.88 179.1 107.5 40 56.39 209.33 162.98 110.41 325.44 231.97 1767.93 Services (0,000 yuan) 87.35 80.06 105.04 119.7 60 55.76 111.02 92.36 117.74 186.28 141.83 1157.14

15 Coal (0,000 tons) \ \ \ 86.18 270.8 2500 106 \ 2962.98 Petroleum (0,000 liters) \ \ \ \ \ \ 626.4 481.6 0 3974 \ 5082 Natural gas (00m m3) \ \ \ \ \ \ 41.84 5208 0 248 \ 5497.84 Nuclear energy (Mew) \ \ \ \ \ \ 0 0 0 \ \ 0 Generated electricity (00m kWh) \ \ \ \ \ \ 0.035 \ 14 \ \ 14.035 Renewable energy (wind, solar, \ \ \ \ \ \ 2 0 1.1 \ \ 3.1 biomass, etc.) (00m kWh) Source: feasibility study reports, and basic data provided by local governments

2.2.6 Local organizations and IAs The Hubei PMO has been established to take charge of the leadership, implementation and supervision of the Project, and contact with the Bank. Project leading groups have been established at the county / county-level city / district level to promote the successful implementation of the Project under the unified coordination and direction of the Hubei PMO. See Table 2-4.

Table 2-4 Local organizations and IAs County / county-level Provincial city / district leading IA SFC PMO group Yiling District Project Yiling District Agriculture Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC Leading Group Bureau Zhongxiang City Project Zhongxiang Municipal Changlong Cultivation SFC Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Honghu City Project Honghu City Agriculture Chunlu Crop Cultivation SFC Leading Group Bureau Xian’an District Project Xian’an District Green Cycle Eco-agriculture Co., Ltd. Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Xiaonan District Project Xiaonan District Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Hubei Nanzhang County Nanzhang County Xiangming Tealeaf SFC PMO Project Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Gong’an County Project Gong’an County Colorful Sunshine Land Joint-stock SFC Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Tongshan County Tongshan County Banqiao Loquat SFC Project Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Tongcheng County Tongcheng County Tianjian Pig SFC Project Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Jingshan City Project Jingshan City Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Duodao District Project Duodao District Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd. Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Planned SFCs Yiling District Project Yiling District Agriculture Yunhong Orange SFC, Xingxiang Farm Product SFC, Leading Group Bureau Yihong Early Tea SFC New Layout Grain Cultivation SFC, Longlife and Safety Cultivaiton SFC, Chunyuan Crop Cultivation SFC Union, Zhongxiang City Project Zhongxiang Municipal Qianye Edible Fungus SFC, Lianli Aquaculture SFC, Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Hubei Xianbaxi Crop SFC, Yinong Straw SFC, Panfeng PMO Selenium-rich High-oleic-acid Rape Cultivation SFC Honghu City Project Honghu City Agriculture Huagui Aquatic Vegetable Cultivation SFC, Xinhongye Leading Group Bureau Food Co., Ltd. Xian’an District Project Xian’an District Shentong Stockbreeding Co., Ltd., Wen’s Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Stockbreeding Co., Ltd., etc. Xiaonan District Project Xiaonan District Xiangrun Rice Cultivation SFC

16 Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Nanzhang County Nanzhang County Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC, Qinglianghe Project Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Vegetable Cultivation SFC Gong’an County Project Gong’an County Lily SFC, Xinsheng Land Join-stock SFC, Shenjindu Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Group Co., Ltd., Meilingbao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd. Tongshan County Tongshan County Banqiao Loquat SFC, Hongmao Ecological Cultivation Project Leading Group Agriculture Bureau and Breeding SFC Jiujingfeng Tealeaf Cultivation SFC, Jinshan Tealeaf SFC, Gaofeng Organic Tea SFC, Yuegushan Tealeaf Tongcheng County Tongcheng County SFC, Yunzhi Ecological Farm, Xinhongxin Pig Raising Project Leading Group Agriculture Bureau SFC, Xiaguang Tealeaf SFC, High-quality Rice Development SFC Union Jingshan City Project Jingshan City Qianchangsheng Land Joint-stock SFC, Shendi Hen Leading Group Agriculture Bureau Breeding SFC

2.2.7 List of social sensitive sites 1) Noise, dust, tail gases, domestic wastewater, domestic waste, etc. produced during project construction may affect nearby residents to some extent. Appropriate measures should be taken to reduce such impacts. 2) The Project will also involve road expansion, and bring higher pedestrian and vehicular traffic with the further improvement of service facilities, thereby posing potential threats to the personal safety of local residents. Traffice safety education should be given to ensure personal safety. 3) Potential LA and HD impacts. According to the survey, 80.03 mu of collective land has been acquired within recent two years and will be used for the Project, affecting 76 households with 330 persons, and 53 mu of collective land has been planned to be acquired for the Project, affecting 45 households with 135 persons (an RPF has been prepared as exact location and amount has not been decided), including: ①83.03 mu of land has been acquired for 3 SFCs in 3 townships in two counties / districts, affecting 76 households with 330 persons. ②53 mu of land is to be acquired for two SFCs in two townships in two counties / districts, affecting 45 households with 135 persons. ③The other SFCs involve land transfer mainly. See Appendix 5 “Identification of Resettlement Impacts”.

Table 2-5 Summary of resettlement impacts County / Occupied land Proposed county-level city Township SFC AHs APs area (mu) document / district LA compensation completed in the past two years Tongshan County Dafan Town Banqiao Loquat SFC 38 45 194 DDR Xiaoxita Town Xingxiang Farm Product SFC 40 31 136 DDR Yiling District Taipingxi Town Yihong Early Tea SFC 2.03 / / DDR Total 80.03 76 330 LA planned Shuangxiqiao Xian’an District Green Cycle Eco-agriculture Co., Ltd. 25 25 76 RPF Town Xiaonan District (TBD) Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. 28 20 59 RPF Total 53 45 135

17 The Project involves 62 villages in 38 townships / sub-districts in 11 counties / county-level cities / districts. See Table 2-6.

Table 2-6 List of social sensitive sites County / Prefecture county-level SFC Social sensitive site -level city city / district Economic Jingshan City Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC Development Yihe, Jiangjiadayan Jingmen Zone Zhongxiang City Changlong Cultivation SFC Changshou Town Huangpo Duodao District Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd. Tuanlinpu Town / Honghu City Chunlu Crop Cultivation SFC Wulin Town Wangjiazhou, Siwumen Jingzhou Zhangzhuangpu Gong’an County Colorful Sunshine Land Joint-stock SFC Xingang, Xinrong Town Nanzhang Xiangyang Xiangming Tealeaf SFC Xiaoyan Town Zhouwan County Shuangxiqiao Xian’an District Green Cycle Eco-agriculture Co., Ltd. Jiushan Town Tongshan Xianning Banqiao Loquat SFC Dafan Town Dakeng County Tongcheng Sizhuang Xiang Huajia Tianjian Pig SFC County Shadui Town / Xiaogan Xiaonan District Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. Xihe Town Yunfeng Longquan Town Tumen, Shuifumiao Bio-industry Park / Yichang Yiling District Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC Yaqueling Town Jinhe Taipingxi Town Huangjiachong Planned SFCs Qianchangsheng Land Joint-stock SFC Qianchang Town Jingtiao, Wuling, Liaochong Jingshan City Shendi Hen Breeding SFC Qianchang Town Shuling New Layout Grain Cultivation SFC Huji Town Pingyan Longlife and Safety Cultivaiton SFC Changshou Town Huangpo Chunyuan Crop Cultivation SFC Union Changtan Town Xianfeng Qianye Edible Fungus SFC Zhangji Town Yunlingzhai Jingmen Kangji, Zhangdang, Zhongxiang City Lianli Aquaculture SFC Wenji Town Yanshan, Weihu Xianbaxi Crop SFC Fengle Town Shengang Yinong Straw SFC Wenji Town / Panfeng Selenium-rich High-oleic-acid Fengle Town Longquangang Rape Cultivation SFC Wanquan Town / Huagui Aquatic Vegetable Cultivation SFC Fengkou Town Tujing Honghu City Xiaogang Xinhongye Food Co., Ltd. Administrative Lianzixi, Zhenyi Area Jingzhou Zhangzhuangpu Tongqiao, Baihe, Shizuimen, Lily SFC Town Shimenzui, Fenghuang Xinsheng Land Join-stock SFC Mengjiaxi Town Qinglong Gong’an County Shenjindu Group Co., Ltd. Shikou Town Xuanshuitan Zhangzhuangpu Meilingbao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd. Fenghuang, Xingang Town Nanzhang Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC Donggong Town Shangquanping Xiangyang County Qinglianghe Vegetable Cultivation SFC Limiao Town Zhaodian Shentong Stockbreeding About 200 Tingsiqiao Town Huangjingtang Xianning Xian’an District Co., Ltd. SFCs Wen’s Stockbreeding Co., Shuangxiqiao Jiushan

18 Ltd. Town Banqiao Loquat SFC Dafan Town Banqiao Tongshan Hongmao Ecological Cultivation and Jiugongshan County Fanzhong, Wangjiafan Breeding SFC Town Jiujingfeng Tealeaf Cultivation SFC Shadui Town Gangbei Junshui Town, Jinshan Tealeaf SFC Youfang Jinshan Xiang Gaofeng Organic Tea SFC Magang Town Gaofeng, Cheng’ao Yuegushan Tealeaf SFC Daping Xiang Xiafan, Yuegu Tongcheng Yunzhi Ecological Farm Guandao Town Ligang County Xinhongxin Pig Raising SFC Junshui Town Gumingshan Tanghu Town Xinzhuang Xiaguang Tealeaf SFC Sizhuang Xiang Sibei Shinan Town Huating High-quality Rice Development SFC Union Junshui Town Shangkuo, Wanchuanzui Xiaogan Xiaonan District Xiangrun Rice Cultivation SFC Dougang Town Chaoyang Yunhong Orange SFC Yaqueling Town Yuntai Xingxiang Farm Product SFC Xiaoxita Town Guanzhuang Yichang Yiling District Longtanping, Yihong Early Tea SFC Taipingxi Town Huangjiachong

19 3 Public Participation Process 3.1 Stakeholder identification Stakeholders refer to individuals or groups that can affect or be affected by project activities. Stakeholders can be divided into primary and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders of the Project include local SFCs and their heads and members, local farmers, persons affected by LA, etc., and secondary stakeholders include the owner, design agency, construction agency, supervising agency and government agencies concerned. 3.1.1 Primary stakeholders Primary stakeholders of the Project include direct beneficiaries and those affected negatively by the Project. 1) Beneficiaries: The Project will benefit residents covered by the SFCs in the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts (mainly including local SFCs and their heads and members, local residents, women, old people, the poor, etc.). a) SFCs and heads: About 45 SFCs in the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts will benefit from the Project directly. The Project will promote the development of new type agriculture represented by SFCs and family farms, which can allocate agricultural resources scientifically, build farm product bases, establish diversified social service organizations, and relieve employment pressure and social conflicts. In addition, the successful operation of SFCs will increase the income of their heads, and drive local farmers to become rich. For example, the head of the Yunhong Orange SFC in Yiling District has established a sales company with an annual export revenue of over 1 million yuan, and also helped nearby orange growers earn land and service income. b) SFC members: SFC members are both beneficiaries and participants of the Project. The development of SFCs will increase SFC members’ income. In addition, the development of green and sustainable agriculture will motivate SFC members to learn advanced cultivation, stockbreeding and management skills. Mechanized and smart agriculture will further improve their productivity. c) Local farmers: Local farmers will also benefit from the Project directly. The Project will motivate them to learn advanced cultivation and stockbreeding skills, and also provide sound infrastructure and public service facilities, such as water and power supply, roads, warehouses, and transaction platforms. In addition, the Project will provide local jobs to local farmers, and free them from busy farming through land transfer. d) Vulnerable groups: Local vulnerable groups include MLS households, five-guarantee households, the disabled, the poor, women-headed households, etc. The Project will undoubtedly bring more job opportunities. Unskilled jobs such as security tea picking and fruit packing will be first made available to local vulnerable groups, allowing them to have stable income while taking care of families. 2) Those affected negatively by the Project: including residents affected adversely by construction and LA, as well as vulnerable groups According to the survey, 83.03 mu of land has been acquired for 3 SFCs in 3 townships in two counties / districts, affecting 76 households with 330 persons; 53 mu of land is to be acquired for two SFCs in two townships in two counties / districts, affecting 45 households with 135 persons; the other SFCs involve land transfer mainly. See Appendix 5 “Identification of Resettlement Impacts”. 3.1.2 Secondary stakeholders Secondary stakeholders include the owner, design agency, construction agency, supervising agency and government agencies concerned. 1) PMOs: Since March 2019, The Hubei PMO has been established to take charge of the leadership, implementation and supervision of the Project, and contact with the Bank. PMOs have been established in the project district / counties for project coordination, composed of relevant government officials, responsible for project construction under the unified coordination and direction of the Hubei PMO. 2) Owner: responsible for project construction, operation, maintenance and coordination 3) Government agencies concerned: including natural resources and planning bureaus, agriculture bureaus, statistics bureaus, labor and social security bureaus, women’s federations, poverty reduction offices, civil affairs bureaus, ethnic and religious affairs bureaus, township governments, village committees, etc.

20 In addition, secondary stakeholders also include the design agency, construction agency, etc.

3.2 Public participation process Since the beginning of project preparation in 2019, the Hubei and county / county-level city / district PMOs have organized a series of public participation and consultation activities. At the preparation stage, the feasibility study agency, SA agency and environmental impact assessment agency conducted information disclosure, public participation and consultation. 3.2.1 Project information disclosure 1) From May 2019, the PMOs have disclosed project information to local residents, and collected their attitudes and comments. 2) From June 2019, the PMOs, county / county-level city / district governments and design agency have disclosed the scope of construction, site selection criteria and traffic safety knowledge by means of meeting, notice, brochure, banner, WeChat, etc., with about 30% of participants being women. 3) During August and September 2019, the task force learned local residents’ production and living conditions, socioeconomic conditions, safe and sustainable agricultural development, potential project impacts, comments and suggestions on the Project, and disclosed project information (scope of construction, social benefits, compensation policies, restoration measures, etc.) to them by means of questionnaire survey, FGD, organizational interview and personal interview. From the beginning of 2019 to date, the Hubei and county / county-level city / district PMOs have released the Project’s latest information online many times. See Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1 Project information disclosure

3.2.2 Field investigation The task force conducted a field investigation in the project area for a more practical and objective understanding of the Project’s impacts, local residents’ socioeconomic conditions, land transfer, their suggestions on SFC and agricultural development, main concerns, etc.

Figure 3-2 Field investigation

3.2.3 FGD In order to learn needs and suggestions of local residents (including urban and rural residents, women, the poor and vulnerable groups), 120 FGDs were held in the project area, with 680 participants in total, including 203 women, accounting for 29.85%; 257 old people, accounting for

21 37.79%; 133 vulnerable people, accounting for 19.56%; and 87 village committee and villager representatives, accounting for 12.79%.

Figure 3-3 FGDs

3.2.4 Key informant interview Key informant interviews were conducted at the county / county-level city / district, township / sub-district and village / community levels to provide inputs into project design and implementation, including heads of county / county-level city / district agencies concerned, township / sub-district and village / community officials, and villager representatives. 187 key informants were interviewed in total, including 12 in Yiling District, 13 in Jingshan City, 13 in Honghu City, 25 in Zhongxiang City, 20 in Nanzhang County, 19 in Gong’an County, 24 in Tongcheng County, 21 in Tongshan County, 23 in Xian’an District and 17 in Duodao District.

Figure 3-4 Key informant interviews

3.2.5 Questionnaire survey The task force also conducted a questionnaire survey in the project area. 400 copies were completed and 400 valid copies recovered, accounting for 100%.

Figure 3-5 Questionnaire survey

22 Table 3-1 Summary of public participation activities Type Date Venue Key points Participants Information disclosure PMOs, feasibility study agency, Affected May 2019 township governments, village villages Project committees, SFCs, APs information Information disclosure, and collection of PMOs, owner, Bank experts, county Affected disclosure Jun. 2019 attitudes and comments / county-level city / district officials, villages SFC heads, APs Jul. 2019 Websites Latest project information PMOs, APs Aug. 25 – Affected Sampling socioeconomic survey Affected villages, SFCs, PMOs, Sep. 8, 2019 villages owner, DDR preparation agency Affected Collecting local residents’ comments and Field Aug. 25 – Affected villages, SFCs, PMOs, villages suggestions by field investigation, investigation Sep. 8, 2019 owner, SA agency and SFCs questionnaire, interview, etc. Aug. 25 – Proposed Consultation on project preparation, and SA agency Sep. 8, 2019 sites collection of suggestions on project optimization Questionnair Aug. 25 – 400 copies distributed and 400 valid copies SFC members, local farmers, SA SFCs e survey Sep. 8, 2019 recovered (63% male and 37% female) agency 120 FGDs were held, with 680 participants in Affected SFC members, local farmers, village Aug. 25 – total, including 203 women, 133 vulnerable FGD villages officials, villager representatives, SA Sep. 8, 2019 people, 257 old people, and 87 village officials and SFCs agency and villager representatives 187 key informants, including 12 in Yiling Agencies District, 13 in Jingshan City, 13 in Honghu City, Key concerned, Government officials, village Aug. 25 – 25 in Zhongxiang City, 20 in Nanzhang County, informant affected officials, villager representatives, Sep. 8, 2019 19 in Gong’an County, 24 in Tongcheng County, interview villages, SFC members, SA agency 21 in Tongshan County, 23 in Xian’an District SFCs and 17 in Duodao District

3.3 Stakeholder demand analysis 3.3.1 Needs for the Project 1) Local farmers have an urgent demand for safe, sustainable and modern agriculture. In the project area, such problems as low degree of agricultural mechanization, overuse of agricultural inputs, serious damage by insects, and overlapping agricultural pollution sources are prevalent, posing great challenges to sustainable agricultural development. In addition, unsound infrastructure makes agricultural production inconvenient, such as field roads, irrigation facilities and wastewater drainage facilities, and farmers lack modern agricultural knowledge and skills. i. Inadequate supply of infrastructure and public service facilities: In some townships, infrastructure and public service facilities are inadequate, so that agricultural production needs cannot be met. For example, there is no wastewater treatment facility in the village where the Qinglianghe Vegetable Cultivation SFC in Nanzhang County is located, so there is the risk of crop pollution. For many SFCs, the inadequacy of infrastructure (e.g., field roads) has increased agricultural production costs. Farmers expect infrastructure and public service facilities to solve their difficulties and enjoy the convenience of modern agriculture.

Interview 3-1: Mr. Wang, Nanzhang County (53 years) “I have only 1.3 mu of land for vegetable cultivation. There is no wastewater treatment facility in the village, so my farmland and vegetables are polluted. I think the most urgent thing is to construct a wastewater treatment facility here.”

ii. Lack of training on agricultural skills training: Today, scientific, smart and modern agriculture has become the mainstream. However, agricultural skills training of SFCs is available to their members only, but not to local farmers, who have suffered unnecessary losses. Local farmers expect SFCs to train them on advanced cultivation and stockbreeding skills, and play a good exemplary role. iii. Expensive production materials: In recent years, costs of production materials have been rising, especially seedlings and fertilizers, thereby reducing the output and quality of farmers’

23 products. Some SFCs distribute seedlings, fertilizers, feeds, pest control / quarantine skills, etc. to members and local farmers for free to help them reduce production costs. For example, Shentong Stockbreeding Co., Ltd. in Xian’an District provides piglets, feeds, quarantine skills, and relevant technical guidance to local farmers, including poor farmers, and purchases adult pigs, thereby reducing their production costs and providing them with a stable purchasing channel. 2) SFCs expect the Project to be implemented as soon as possible. In recent years, Hubei is faced with new challenges and opportunities in farm product quality and safety, including pollution, unsound agricultural production management, unsound legal system, absence of regulation, and unsound standard system. The Project will improve product quality and the food safety regulation system, and promote sustainable agricultural development through smart agriculture practices, and establish demonstration areas to extend experience to other parts of Hubei and China, and the world. All SFCs expect to solve their agricultural problems through the Project.

Interview 3-2: Mr. Zhang, head of Banqiao Loquat SFC, Tongshan County (55 years) “I heard of the Project 3 years ago. It is good to agricultural development, so I support it unconditionally.”

i. Difficulty in fundraising: Agriculture is an industry with a high investment and a long payback period. Many local SFCs say that they have difficulty in fund raising. For example, the head of the Xiaguang Tealeaf SFC in Tongcheng County says that organic tea cultivation involves a high investment, but it can hardly obtain a loan and the interest rate is very high (10% per month), so he expects the government to promulgate supporting policies for agriculture. ii. Lack of technology input: Agriculture has a history of over 1,000 years in China as the primary industry. However, with the modernization and mechanization of agricultural production, the traditional farming pattern is no longer suitable. In order to keep up with the times, modern technologies should be introduced to improve agricultural output and quality. iii. Backward agricultural IT building: With the development of e-commerce, transaction platforms of SFCs are already backward in function, distribution infrastructure, IT building and management. There is an urgent need for a province-wide smart information network. 3) Women expect to get employed locally. The Project will generate many job opportunities for local women. Local SFCs can offer both temporary and permanent jobs, such as tea and fruit picking, weeding, packing, and farm product processing. Women expect to get employed nearby while taking care of their families.

Interview 3-3: Ms Wang, Yangbao Village, Xian’an District (36 years) “My child is at primary school, and my husband works outside, so I have to take him to and from school, and do housework. I want to get employed locally, even temporarily, so I can earn money while taking care of the family.”

4) Vulnerable residents expect to benefit equally from the Project through its demonstration effect. In order to protect the rights and interests of vulnerable residents, especially the poor, local SFCs have developed special assistance measures for vulnerable residents. However, most SFCs provide direct financial assistance to the poor in such forms as free dividend distribution, free supply of production materials, and direct cash discounts, and still need improvement in helping vulnerable residents start up their own businesses. Therefore, local vulnerable residents expect the Project to play a greater role in promoting poverty alleviation and balanced development through more effective assistance. 3.3.2 High activity and willingness of low income population for the Project Local low income population generally supports the Project, with a support rate of 97.6%. If possible, they are willing to input labor at the construction and operation stages to increase their income, such as tea picking, processing, weeding, fertilization, cleaning, security and cooking. Most MLS and poor households are willing to participate in the Project. For them, the Project is

24 a good opportunity to increase income and eliminate poverty. They can either participate directly in the Project by labor input, or do better-paid jobs by taking advantage of the demonstration effect of the Project. 3.3.3 Strong participation willingness of women 98.6% of the female respondents are willing to participate in the Project. See Table 3-2.

Table 3-2 Willingness of women to participate in the Project Indicator Cumulative Frequency Percent Valid percent Option percent Willing 60 40.5 40.5 40.5 Unwilling 86 58.1 58.1 98.6 Valid Neither, nor 2 1.4 1.4 100.0 Total 148 100.0 100.0 /

Interview 3-4: Ms Zhou, Longtanping Village, Yiling District, Yichang City (35 years) “My family has transferred out 10 mu of land, with an annual rental of 500 yuan/mu. I am completely carefree, and have time for dancing. I’m leading a comfortable life. now”

Women think that through land transfer to SFCs, they have more leisure time, and jobs and training offered by SFCs to them will increase their income and improve their skills, thereby improving their family status. Therefore, women expect the Project to offer jobs to them to increase their income and improve their social status. 3.3.4 Improved awareness of the Project among local officials and residents 67% of the respondents are aware of the Project. 25.3% of those aware of the Project hear of the Project by means of television, broadcast, newspaper, Web, etc., 21.9% by means of village / community committee, and 20.7% by the government. Local government officials are more aware of details of the Project, but ordinary residents know little about the Project. Therefore, publicity on the Project should be strengthened to involve the public in the Project. 3.3.5 High support level of local residents for the Project 95.5% of the respondents think that the Project is important for their families, and 97.5% support the Project.

Table 3-3 Support of local residents for the Project Indicator Valid Cumulative Frequency Percent Option percent percent Strongly support 192 48.0 48.0 48.0 Support 198 49.5 49.5 97.5 Valid Don’t care 10 2.5 2.5 100.0 Total 400 100.0 100.0

Residents near the project sites generally support the Project after learning more about it.

25 4 Social Impact Analysis 4.1 Positive impacts According to the questionnaire survey, local residents think that the Project will have the following positive impacts: 1) 64.6% of farmers think that the Project will promote local economic development; 2) 61.4% of farmers think that the Project will promote employment and increase income; 3) 52.6% of farmers think that the Project will improve food safety and offer advanced skills; 4) 61.9% of SFC members think that the Project will improve land fertility through the use of organic fertilizers; 5) 60.1% of SFC members think that the Project will improve food safety; 6) 58% of SFC members think that the Project will promote employment and local economic development.

Table 4-1 Positive impacts of the Project perceived by farmers Indicator Potential positive impact of the Project Promoting Promoting Improving Improving Offering local Improving the employment, Perception food local advanced economic environment and increasing safety infrastructure skills development income Sample size 93 60 49 70 43 60 Percent (%) 64.6 52.6 42.9 61.4 37.7 52.6

Table 4-2 Positive impacts of the Project perceived by SFC members Indicator Potential positive impact of the Project Increasing Improving Increasing Promoting Improving Improvi Improving Increasing agricultural the Freeing land local local Improving Perception ng land food leisure output and environme labor utilization economic infrastruct quality fertility safety time income nt rate development ure Sample size 177 170 137 87 126 122 166 70 66 74 Percent (%) 61.9 60.1 47.9 30.4 44.1 42.7 58.0 24.5 23.1 25.9

4.1.1 Increasing the utilization rate of idle rural land and agricultural profitability 12.3% of the respondents think that the Project will increase the utilization rate of idle rural land. Local farmland contracted by farmers is laid idle to varying degrees, because most farmers are working outside. In the project area, about 20-30% of land is laid idle. The Project will make good use of idle land to increase income for local farmers. 4.1.2 Improving the quality and safety of farm products, and farming output and yield In the project area, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used prevalently. The Project aims to realize safe, sustainable and smart agriculture through the rational use of organic fertilizers and biological pesticides. Many SFC heads say that they will receive funds to purchase organic fertilizers and biological pesticides after the completion of the Project. Although there is the risk of reduced output, the quality and safety of farm products will improve to some extent, especially in rice cultivation and stockbreeding. For example, the Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC in Jingshan City has begun to extend biological pesticides, and will further extend such pesticides after receiving funds.

Interview 4-1: Mr. Li, Guanzhuang Village, Yiling District, Yichang City (38 years) “I work in Yichang City, and my family’s land is left idle. After I transfer the land to the SFC, I will no longer worry about it. The SFC will manage it, and I can receive hundreds of yuan a year.”

Interview 4-2: Mr. Zhou, head of Shentong Stockbreeding Co., Ltd., Xian’an District (52 years) “The SFC offers many jobs to farmers, such as breeder, tea manager and picker, with daily income of up to 300 yuan. Women and old people like these jobs. We can also deal with processing at the tea factory.”

26 4.1.3 Improving infrastructure and public service facilities In some parts of the project area, agricultural infrastructure is relatively weak, such as no irrigation facility and drainage system for orchards, and no efficient irrigation system and convenient field road for tea gardens. Such infrastructure will be constructed under the Project, thereby providing convenience to local SFCs, farmers and residents, and improving the rural ecological environment. 4.1.4 Improving the ecological and living environment After the completion of the Project, some land will be leveled to improve landscape, and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides will be reduced, and replaced by organic ones, thereby improving land fertility and the ecological environment. On the other hand, such measures as centralized stockbreeding, straw treatment and lotus root cultivation will improve the rural living environment and quality. For example, in Huangjingtang Village in Tongcheng County, a large amount of organic manure is required for organic tea cultivation, but it is transported by truck, resulting in a strong smell. The construction of new irrigation facilities and pipes will solve the smell problem and create a better living environment.

Interview 4-3: Mr. Chen, Huangjingtang Village, Xian’an District (49 years) “The tea garden on the hill is connected by an earth road, which is inconvenient, especially on rainy days. We expect a cement road and an irrigation facility to be built.”

Interview 4-4: Mr. Yang, Fandian Village, Tongcheng County (48 years) “Free-range chickens in our village are annoying, because they often defecate near my house and eat my vegetables. Things are much better when they are bred centrally.”

4.1.5 Helping villagers learn advanced cultivation and breeding techniques Many SFCs offer agricultural skills training to their members. Advanced agricultural equipment, agricultural production materials and technologies should be introduced for modern and smart agriculture, thereby established advanced cultivation and stockbreeding patterns. After the completion of the Project, the local SFCs will offer technical training to both members and local farmers, thereby helping local farmers improve their cultivation and stockbreeding level.

Interview 4-5: Uncle Zhang, Huangjiachong Village, Yiling District (47 years) “The SFC produces organic tea, which sells at a high price. I also want to learn how to produce organic tea from them to increase income. They would train us once or twice a year.”

4.1.6 Promoting both returned start-up business and poverty alleviation With the progress of industry transfer, central China has received some labor intensive enterprises from coastal regions, and some migrant workers are returning home for startup busineeses. For example, Wu Haiyan, a member of the Banqiao Loquat SFC in Dafan Town, Tongshan County, has brought back skills and funds for startup in loquat cultivation. This will also promote local poverty alleviation. Some SFCs promote poverty alleviation by leveraging local financial support policies. For example, the Chunyuan Cultivation SFC in Zhongxiang City mobilizes poor households to apply for interest-free loans to become shareholders, where the local policy stipulates that each poor household may apply for an interest-free loan of 50,000 yuan (5 years) with the bank. In this way, each poor household can receive a dividend of at least 6,000 yuan per annum. The loan principal of 50,000 yuan will be repaid by the SFC 5 years later.

4.2 Negative impacts 4.2.1 Potential LA and HD impacts According to the survey, 80.03 mu of collective land has been acquired in the past two years and will be used for the Project, affecting 76 households with 330 persons, and 53 mu of collective land is planned to be acquired for the Project, affecting 45 households with 135 persons (an RPF

27 has been prepared), including: 1.83.03 mu of land has been acquired for 3 SFCs in 3 townships in two counties / districts, affecting 76 households with 330 persons. 2.53 mu of land is to be acquired for two SFCs in two townships in two counties / districts, affecting 45 households with 135 persons. 3.The other SFCs involve land transfer mainly. Due to LA and the reduction of land-based income, local farmers will be faced with livelihood risks. This requires that potential LA impacts be identified as early as possible, adequate compensation granted under the prevailing policies, comments and suggestions collected timely, and an appropriate response mechanism established for potential and urgent issues. See Table 4-3 and Appendix 5: “Identification of Resettlement Impacts”. Table 4-3 Impacts of permanent LA County / Occupied land Proposed county-level city Township SFC AHs APs area (mu) document / district LA compensation completed in the past two years Tongshan County Dafan Town Banqiao Loquat SFC 38 45 194 DDR Xiaoxita Town Xingxiang Farm Product SFC 40 31 136 DDR Yiling District Taipingxi Town Yihong Early Tea SFC 2.03 / / DDR Total 80.03 76 330 LA planned Shuangxiqiao Xian’an District Green Cycle Eco-agriculture Co., Ltd. 25 25 76 RPF Town Xiaonan District (TBD) Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. 28 20 59 RPF Total 53 45 135

Interview 4-6: Mr. Zhao, Chengu Village, Wuli Town, Tongcheng County (43 years) “Farmers grow the same thing as the SFC, but the yield is not as good. I also want to learn cultivation skills from them. Some villagers in our village no longer deal with farming due to low income, leaving the land idle.”

4.2.2 Potential natural and social impacts during construction and operation Noise, dust, tail gases, domestic wastewater, domestic waste, etc. produced during project construction may affect nearby residents to some extent. This is reflected in the questionnaire survey. Potential negative impacts of the Project perceived by local residents mainly include: 1) 62.3% of farmers think that the Project will increase income gap; 2) 53.5% of farmers think that there will be temporary traffic convenience during construction; 3) 38.8% of SFC members think that pests and diseases will result from reduced pesticide use; 4) 34.6% of SFC members think that upfront costs are too high; 5) 27.6% of SFC members think that farm product quality will reduce; 6) 21.7% think that construction will produce dust and noise; 7) 30.4% of SFC members think that there will be temporary traffic convenience during construction. Table 4-4 Negative impacts of the Project perceived by farmers Indicator Potential negative impact of the Project Increased Extensive epidemics due Temporary traffic Dust and Perception income gap to large scale breeding inconvenience noise Sample size 71 34 61 42 Percent (%) 62.3 29.8 53.5 36.8

Table 4-5 Negative impacts of the Project perceived by SFC members Indicator Potential negative impact of the Project Pests and diseases Reduced farm Extensive epidemics High Temporary Dust and Perception resulting from reduced product due to large scale upfront traffic noise pesticide use quality breeding costs inconvenience Sample size 111 79 76 99 62 87 Percent (%) 38.8 27.6 26.6 34.6 21.7 30.4

28 5 Poverty Analysis 5.1 Current situation of poverty 5.1.1 Hubei Province In 2018, 963 poor villages in Hubei Province were no longer poor villages, and a poor population of 1.046 million eliminated. It is planned to further eliminate 17 poor counties, 800 poor villages and a poor population of 900,000 in 2019. In Hubei Province, poor families are small, poverty incidence is low, poverty alleviation is fast, there are diversified causes of poverty, especially diseases, education and disability, and poor population is scattered. 5.1.2 Project area (counties / county-level cities / districts) Currently, the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts have 101 poor villages, 30,580 poor households and a poor population of 122,319, in which Tongcheng County is a province-level poor county. 1) Yiling District, Yichang City: At the end of 2018, there were 8 poor villages, 3,536 poor households and a poor population of 7,443, and the poverty indigence was reduced to 0.04%. Through long-term poverty alleviation, production level and living quality have improved greatly. 2) Jingshan City: In 2018, 10 poor villages, 1,900 poor households and a poor population of 4,837 were lifted out of poverty, accounting for 107.8%, 100% and 100% of the target values respectively. 3) Nanzhang County: In 2018, 15 poor villages, 7,742 poor households and a poor population of 15,663 were lifted out of poverty, and the county was no longer a poor county. 4) Zhongxiang City: From 2014 to 2018, 52 poor villages, 14,900 poor households and a poor population of 50,007 were lifted out of poverty, and poverty incidence dropped from 9.2% to 2%. Currently, the city has poor villages 22, 5,534 poor households and a poor population of 14,269. 5) Gong’an County: From 2014 to January 2018, 27 poor villages, 14,178 poor households and a poor population of 46,684 were lifted out of poverty. In January 2018, the county had 22 poor villages, 6,493 poor households and a poor population of 17,256. 6) Honghu City: In 2018, the city had 68 poor villages, 16,277 poor households and a poor population of 52,706, poverty incidence was 1.6%, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents grew 8.5%. 7) Xianning City Xian’an District: In 2018, 5 poor villages, 4,474 poor households and a poor population of 11,802 were lifted out of poverty. 8) Tongcheng County: This county is a province-level poor county, with 12 key poor villages and a registered poor population of 21,000. The target of 2019 is to lift 12 poor villages (including 6 province-level poor villages) and a registered poor population of 19,922 out of poverty, ensure that 30 poor villages and a poor population of 84,835 lifted out of poverty before 2019 are lifted out of poverty stably, and implement assistance measures for an existing poor population of 1,681. 9) Tongshan County: From 2013 to 2018, 47 poor villages, 25,150 poor households and a poor population of 83,933 were lifted out of poverty, with 434 poor households and a poor population of 940 remaining, which will be lifted out of poverty in 2019. See Table 5-1.

Table 5-1 Distribution of local poor population Division Poor villages Poor households Poor population Poverty incidence Yiling District 16 10205 40818 0.04% Jingshan City 14 2164 8655 / Duodao District 0 5 18 / Nanzhang County 0 60 241 4.17% Zhongxiang City 22 3567 14269 2% Xiaonan District 11 2000 7998 / Gong’an County 16 3788 15150 / Honghu City 10 3077 12309 1.6% Xian’an District 0 85 338 / Tongcheng County 12 5401 21603 / Tongshan County 0 230 920 / Total (project area) 101 30580 122319 /

5.1.3 MLS At the end of 2018, Hubei Province had 378,000 urban MLS subjects and 1.338 million rural ones. See Table 5-2.

Table 5-2 Local MLS population Rural MLS Urban MLS Percentage to Percentage to Division HHs Population agricultural HHs Population nonagricultural population (%) population (%) Yiling District 54744 97563 27.68% 17494 26856 15.89% Jingshan City 653 2664 0.76% 1853 7397 4.37% Duodao District 2306 3592 3.77% 1635 2601 1.99% Nanzhang County 3065 12234 3.30% 618 2479 1.22% Zhongxiang City 6126 15114 / / / / Xiaonan District 2771 11089 4.47% 1233 4927 2.09% Gong’an County 6550 26200 3.88% 1625 6500 2.02% Honghu City 6179 24700 5.77% 1821 7200 1.87% Xian’an District 6118 11110 3.80% 3559 5595 1.67% Tongcheng County 22256 89200 22.72% 7789 30800 22.85% Tongshan County 10443 18625 5.2% 2738 3966 3.3% Total (project area) 121497 312701 / / / / Source: statistical bulletins 2018 on national economic and social development of counties / county-level cities / districts, county / district statistics

5.2 Causes of poverty In the project counties / county-level cities / districts, poverty still exists in some areas, and their causes of poverty are similar. 1) Historical and geographic factors: The project area has much hilly land, and less usable land and available resources, and is undeveloped and backward. 2) Poverty alleviation work should be further strengthened. Some officials have taken limited substantial and pertinent assistance measures, and some are unfamiliar with relevant policies. 3) Poor households are not clearly aware of poverty alleviation policies. 4) Poverty alleviation by industrial development is not effective enough, and is limited to traditional crop cultivation and stockbreeding. In some poor villages, there is no leading industry, and the leading role of the SFC is insufficient. In addition, poverty alleviation by industrial development has a long payback period, and high natural and market risks, so local residents are not fully motivated. 5) Whole village promotion is not effective enough, and fund use is inefficient due to the lack of scientific demonstration and sound management. 6) There are deficiencies in the management of small-amount poverty alleviation loans. Due to the lack of supervision, some poor households have not used loans for development, but for enjoyment.

5.3 Local poverty reduction measures In general, local poverty reduction measures mainly include the following: 1) Industrial development: Develop a leading industry in each poor village, such as mulberry, edible fungi, tea, medicinal materials, livestock, poultry and tourism. 2) Training and employment: Offer occupational training to laborers, develop public welfare jobs, and employ poor residents. 3) Health security: Provide basic medical insurance and assistance to the poor to avoid impoverishment due to diseases. 4) Education: Grant educational subsidies to poor students, namely 1,000 yuan per student per year for the preschool and primary school stages, and 1,500 yuan per student per year for the high school stage, to prevent dropout due to poverty. 5) MLS: Grant MLS subsidies to poor population with no ability to work and no income source. For example, from January to November 2018, rural MLS subsidies of 35.43 million yuan, rural

30 poverty support funds of 46.5856 million yuan, and medical assistance funds of 13.18 million yuan were granted in Gong’an County. 6) Other measures: Promote rural dilapidated house reconstruction and infrastructure construction, including power, traffic, communication, cultural, recreational and medical infrastructure, in poor villages. While encouraging all poor villages to develop characteristic industries, implement the photovoltaic power generation project in these villages, and ensure that the additional annual collective income of each village arising from such project is more than 50,000 yuan.

5.4 Needs of the poor for the Project It can be seen that the Project will affect and serve a poor population of 122,319. Only if the special needs of poor people are met, their suggestions accepted, and the Project’s potential negative impacts on them evaded can they truly benefit from the Project. The task force identified their needs during the fieldwork, and has proposed suggestions accordingly. 1) Demand for employment: 92% of the poor respondents are willing to get employed under the Project to increase their income. Unskilled jobs generated at the construction and operation stages of the Project will be first made available to them, especially disabled persons with employment difficulty, such as cleaning, field or forest patrol, catering service and packing.

Interview 5-1: Ms Cai, Yaoxing Village, Gong’an County (59 years) “My son is disabled, and I have to stay at home to take care of him, so I can only do odd jobs nearby. I just expect to do an odd job under the Project, such as packing, to earn some money.”

2) Demand for agricultural skills guidance: Some poor residents have not received agricultural skills training from SFCs yet. They expect to increase agricultural income and alleviate poverty by mastering advanced agricultural technologies, and modern cultivation and stockbreeding patterns.

Interview 5-2: Mr. Li, Fanzhong Village, Tongshan County (57 years) “We MLS residents expect the SFC to teach us some cultivation skills, because we are told that it is profitable.”

3) Demand for free production materials: Many poor residents say that agricultural production costs are rising year by year due to the rise of prices of production materials, such as fertilizers and seedlings, resulting in reduced agricultural output, quality and income. Therefore, they expect SFCs to offer free production materials to reduce their production costs.

Interview 5-3: Mr. Zhou, Yanshan Village, Zhongxiang City (49 years) “Seeds and fertilizers are too expensive, and would be unaffordable soon. I expect the SFC to provide some free seedlings.”

5.5 Impacts of the Project on the poor The Project will involve LA, where relatively poor villages and people are often disadvantaged in using compensation, benefiting from the Project and adapting to new lifestyle, so their poverty may be aggravated. In view of this, the following measures have been planned to avoid further impoverishment and ensure that poor population benefits equally from the Project: 1) Offering direct and indirect job opportunities to increase income: Job opportunities generated directly by the Project: Some temporary or permanent jobs will be generated at the construction and operation stages, such as tea picking, fertilization and weeding, which will be first made available to local poor people and other vulnerable groups to increase their income. Such jobs usually have monthly pays of 2,000-3,000 yuan. Job opportunities generated indirectly by the Project: The Project will create a good environment for tourism development, and attract more

31 tourists to the project area, thereby generating more job opportunities indirectly, such as catering, accommodation and cleaning. For example, the Banqiao Loquat SFC and the Hongmao Ecological Species Breeding SFC in Tongshan County promote tourism and consumption by organizing loquat picking activities. This will help vulnerable groups get employed locally and increase income. 2) Improving local infrastructure to benefit the poor: The Project will improve local infrastructure and public service facilities, which will bring convenience to both SFCs and local poor residents. The Project will reduce the consumption of labor and time costs due to inadequate infrastructure. 3) Promoting local economic development: The Project will improve local agricultural development, the rational allocation of agricultural resources and the development of associated industries greatly, thereby reducing labor intensity, improving resource utilization and productivity, alleviating employment pressure and reducing social conflicts. 4) Promoting social fairness: The Project will improve the agricultural level of the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts in Hubei Province practically, and allow local residents to share economic and social development. The Project will not only provide the poor population of the project area with better living experiences, such as sound infrastructure, but also bring more development opportunities to poor population. It can be said that the Project will benefit local residents, including a large poor population, and enable them to share social development achievements.

32 6 Gender Analysis 6.1 Local female population At the end of 2018, Hubei Province had a registered population of 59.17 million, including 30.0222 million males and 29.1478 million females, accounting for 50.74% and 49.26% respectively, with a gender ration of 104.4:100. The 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts have a total population of 7.5096 million, including 3.4477 females, accounting for 45.91%, with a gender ratio of 118:100. Among the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts, Nanzhang County has the highest proportion of female population of 49.69%, and Gong’an County, Tongcheng County and Tongshan County have the lowest proportion of 40%. Gong’an County, Tongcheng County and Tongshan County have the highest gender ratio of 150, and Nanzhang County has the lowest ratio of 104. See Table 6-1.

Table City Honghu 6-1 Local female population

Zhongxiang Zhongxiang

Tongcheng Tongcheng

Nanzhang Nanzhang Tongshan

Gong

Jingshan Jingshan

Xian

Xiaonan

Duodao Duodao

District County County County County District District District

Yiling

City City Indicator ’ ’ an

HHs (0,000) 11.61 20.19 29.07 31.33 12.75 15.28 14.3 19.92 9.3 23.34 23.23 Population (0,000) 52.23 63.05 92.08 99.72 57.37 52.74 48.59 62.85 32.55 105.88 83.90 Males (0,000) 26.68 32.50 49.23 59.83 28.86 31.64 29.15 32.96 16.87 54.98 43.49 Females (0,000) 25.55 30.55 42.85 39.89 28.51 21.10 19.44 29.89 15.68 50.9 40.41 Percentage of 48.92 48.45 46.54 49.69 47.56 48.17 48.07 48.16 40% 40% 40% females % % % % % % % % Gender ratio 104: 106: 115: 150: 101: 150: 145: 110: 108: 108: 108: (female = 100) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Source: statistical yearbooks and statistical bulletins on national economic and social development

6.2 Current situation of local women To learn local women’s development, the task force conducted a questionnaire survey, with 148 female respondents, accounting for 37% of all samples. 6.2.1 Age composition Among the respondents, those aged 45-54 years account for 33.75%, being 64.4% and 35.6% for males and females respectively. Among the females, those aged 45-54 years are the most, followed by those aged 35-34 years, and those aged 18-24 years are the least. See Figure 6-1.

Age and gender distribution 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65及以上

男女

Figure 6-1 Age and gender distribution of samples

6.2.2 Educational level 27.7% and 32.94% of the female and male respondents have received junior high school

33 education respectively; 10.81% of the females have received junior college or above education, lower than that of the males of 17.46%; 22.3% of the females have received primary school education, significantly higher than that of the males of 24.2%, 8.78% of the females are illiterate, significantly higher than that of the males of 4.37%. It can be seen that there are significant differences in educational level between the males and females, and the overall educational level of the females is lower than that of the males. See Table 6-2.

Table 6-2 Educational levels of samples by gender Male Female Total Educational level N Percent N Percent N Percent Junior college or above 11 4.37% 13 8.78% 24 1.5% Senior high school / 61 24.20% 33 22.30% 94 23.5% secondary technical school Junior high school 83 32.94% 41 27.70% 124 31% Primary school 53 21.03% 45 30.41% 98 24.5% Illiterate 44 17.46% 16 10.81% 60 15% Total 252 100% 148 100% 400 100%

6.2.3 Occupation composition Over 70% of the male and female respondents are farmers, showing no significant gender difference. Among the females, the proportions of civil servants, employees, self-employers and freelancers are lower than those of the males, showing that women are still disadvantaged on the labor market, there is little difference in workers of public institutions, unemployed, students and retirees. There is an obvious division of labor by gender, where males deal with external affairs, while females with internal affairs mainly. According to interviews, women do farm work and housework mainly, and even those employed work at nearby enterprises or in the slack season. Men usually enjoy higher family status than women.

Table 6-3 Occupations of samples by gender Male Female Total Occupation N Percent N Percent N Percent Civil servant 1 0.4% 0 0.00% 1 0.25% Worker of public institution 0 0% 1 0.68% 1 0.25% Employee of enterprise 44 17.46% 27 18.24% 71 17.75% Self-employer 14 5.56% 8 5.41% 22 5.5% Freelancer 7 2.78% 4 2.7% 11 2.75% Unemployed 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Student 0 0% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Retiree 1 0.4% 0 0.00% 1 0.25% Farmer 185 73.41% 108 72.97% 293 73.25% Other 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% Total 252 100% 148 100% 400 100%

Importance for the family 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% 非常重要重要一般不重要男女

34 Figure 6-2 Importance of the Project for the family by gender

6.2.4 Social status 1) Women support the Project more strongly than men. In the question “Is the Project important for your family?”, 95.27% of the female respondents choose “very important” or “important”, higher than that of the males (94.45%). Since many local men work outside, local women are the main force of farming, so more women think the Project is important. See Figure 6-2. 2) Local women’s social status has improved, and the proportion of women participating in political affairs is increasing. In recent years, through active efforts of government agencies, women’s federations and public welfare organizations (or international organizations), local women have more opportunities to participate in public affairs, and enjoy public services and supporting policies. In the 11 project counties / county-level cities / districts, women’s social status is improving gradually, and the number of women participating in political affairs is increasing. To promote women’s participation in decision-making and management, local women’s federations have enacted and improved relevant policies. Women’s wishes and needs are expressed actively through active communications with female officials. Women’s councils have been established to guide women to participate in grass-root democratic governance. For example, in Nanzhang County, there is at least female official in each village / community committee. Women’s economic participation has been activated. 1) Local governments and social organizations have built innovation and startup service platforms for women, and motivated women to participate in innovation and startup. The female startup and innovation program initiated by the provincial women’s federation implemented extensively in the project to guide more women for startup, innovation and growth. Employment information is released timely and extensively (including website, WeChat, etc.) in cooperation with labor and social security bureaus to promote the employment or reemployment of women. The policy of small amount secured startup loans for women is further communicated to ensure that such loans are more readily available to women; 2) In Duodao District, training on practical agricultural skills, e-commerce, rural tourism, handicrafts, housekeeping, maternity care, etc. is offered to local women extensively; 3) In Zhongxiang City, all-round support is provided to women’s social organizations, including site, resources, guidance, legal advice, mental counseling, family education, etc. Further implement the women’s poverty alleviation action. 1) In Duodao District, over 10 sessions of systematic and professional agricultural skills training were offered to rural women in 2018 to help them improve cultivation and stockbreeding practices; 2) In Duodao District, a free examination of breast cancer and cervical cancer was offered to poor women in June; in Nanzhang County, 4,296 poor women have received a free examination of breast cancer and cervical cancer, and those ill have received assistance; 3) Women’s federations in Jingshan City have offered startup and employment skills training to 200 poor women, including baby care, cultivation, stockbreeding, hand weaving, etc. More and more public activities oriented to women in the project area will certainly provide women with more opportunities to participate in public affairs, improve their ability to participate in social activities, increase their technical, social and material capital, and make it possible to increase their income, and elevate their family and social status.

6.3 Women’s needs and expectations At the preparation stage, the Hubei and county / county-level city / district PMOs, design agency, and task force learned local women’s needs and suggestions by means of FGD, interview, etc. 6.3.1 Relationship between women and agriculture 1) Women are the main force of local traditional agricultural production. Local men mostly work outside, while local women mostly deal with traditional agricultural production and housework. Therefore, women are the main force of traditional agricultural production. 2) Women’s overall evaluation of local agricultural development 25.67% of the female respondents think local agriculture is satisfactory, 39.87% think that it is ordinary, and only 0.68% think it has serious problems.

35 In general, local women are satisfied with local agricultural development. In their opinions, the main problems in local agricultural development are serious land idling, inadequate agricultural mechanization and industrialization, and poor food safety.

Satisfaction with agricuture 45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% 非常满意满意一般 .不满意非常不满意

Figure 6-3 Overall evaluation of agricultural development among women

6.3.2 Women support the Project more strongly and are more confident in the Project. 58.79% of the female respondents highly support the Project, higher than that of the males (40.47%). The Project will free women from farming to a great extent, so that they will have more leisure time and more job opportunities, thereby increasing their income and improving their family status. Therefore, women support the Project more strongly than men. See Figure 6-4.

Support for the Project 100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% 非常支持支持无所谓

男女

Figure 6-4 Support for the Project

Interview 6-1: Ms Li, Wuling Village, Qianchang Town, Jingshan City (45 years) We women definitely support the Project, because our husbands work outside, and all farm work is done by us. We want to transfer out our land, so that we have time to take care of children and dance.

6.3.3 Women expect more employment and income increasing opportunities from the Project. Some jobs will be generated at the construction and operation stages, and will be made available to local residents, especially women. SFCs deal mainly with agricultural production, and farm product processing and packing, and need a large number of laborers. Therefore, SFCs can provide many jobs to local farmers. Local women expect such jobs, because they want to work locally.

36 Interview 6-2: Ms Wang, Wenji Village, Zhongxiang City (50 years) After land transfer, I have time to work at the SFC to improve living quality. I earn 80-90 yuan a day.

6.3.4 Women have a strong demand for public participation. It can be seen from the survey that local women’s social status is still lower than that of men, and participate in such public activities as compensation receipt, major decision-making and skills training at a low level. Most local women are willing to participate in public activities, such as compensation receipt, SFC operations, collective decision making and skills training. They expect that more attention be paid to the needs and interests of middle-aged and old women (with lower educational levels) in future skills training.

Interview 6-3: Ms Wang, Duodao District, Jingmen City (44 years) Now men are still in charge, so participants of village meetings are mostly men. In fact, we also want to participate to express our needs.

6.4 Project impacts on women 6.4.1 Positive impacts 1) Offering jobs and increasing income In the project area, the proportion of rural young laborers (especially male laborers) working outside is very high, leaving behind old people and females. The Project will benefit left-behind old people and females in many ways. SFCs deal mainly with agricultural production, and farm product processing and packing, and need a large number of laborers. Therefore, SFCs can provide many jobs to local farmers. Since women are better at manual work, they are favored by some processing plants, in which the proportion of female laborers is as high as 90%. An SFC dealing with orange, loquat or tea usually needs 40 laborers per day, and daily pay is 80-100 yuan for cultivation and stockbreeding, or 200 yuan for packing. Thus, a woman can earn 20,000-30,000 yuan per annum additionally.

Interview 6-4: Ms Sun, Huangjiachong Village, Yiling District, Yichang City (38 years) We villagers mostly work at factories, dealing with processing, packing, etc., and earning 4,000-5,000 yuan a month.

2) Improving the family status of women and promoting gender equality Since women deal mainly with agricultural production and housework, men’s contribution to household income is much higher than that of women, and women’s contribution to families is often ignored. The SFCs under the Project will offer jobs to women, which will increase their income and improve their family status.

Interview 6-5: Ms Zhou, Yunfeng Village, Xihe Town, Xiaonan District (38 years) I can earn money now, and sometimes earn more than my husband, so I can spend money freely and am in charge of the family.

3) Realizing local employment The Project will provide local jobs to women, so that they can work while taking care of families. In addition, some SFCs specializing in orange and rice operate seasonally, so women can work in leisure time.

Interview 6-6: Ms Chen, Yuegu Village, Daping Xiang, Tongcheng County (44 years) I formerly worked outside, and earned only 2,000 yuan a month despite of hard work. Now I work locally and earn over 3,000 yuan a month.

4) Improving local infrastructure, and providing a safer, more convenient and more beautiful environment to women Rural field roads are mostly narrow and muddy earth roads, on which farmers are likely to slip

37 or even be injured. In order to ensure the safety and quality of crops, SFCs will further improve nearby infrastructure, including field roads, and irrigation and drainage facilities, thereby providing greater convenience to female farmers.

Interview 6-7: Ms Liu, Shuling Village, Jingshan City (48 years) There were many flies and mosquitoes here, but now the village is clean.

5) Giving women more leisure time through land transfer Since local women have to deal with both agricultural production and housework, they have little leisure time, and live under great mental stress. Through land transfer under the Project, women will have reduced labor intensity and more leisure time, especially for old women, thereby improving their living quality significantly. 6) Learning advanced cultivation and stockbreeding skills SFCs would offer agricultural training 3 or 4 times a year, and distribute brochures to improve women’s cultivation and stockbreeding skills. For example, Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. in Xiaonan District has set up a reading room for farmers. 7) Encouraging women’s participation, and promoting women’s development The Bank always encourages the participation of women, and pays attention to the protection of women’s rights and interests. During project implementation, an incentive mechanism for women to participate in public affairs will be established in each affected village, thereby further involving women in the Project, and creating more development opportunities to them. In addition, special cultivation and stockbreeding training will be offered to women to improve their participation awareness, and promote their long-term development. The survey shows that the female respondents are highly willing to participate in such public activities. 6.4.2 Negative impacts Although the Project will benefit women in some aspects, if social gender sensitivity is insufficient at the design, construction and operation stages, women’s needs may be neglected or their benefits from the Project reduced. The main risks include: 1) Women’s participation level in the Project is low, and their needs are likely to be ignored. Local women’s social status is still lower than that of men. Most major family decisions are made by men, and most participants in public affairs are still men. Thus, women’s needs and suggestions are likely to be ignored at the design, construction and operation stages. 2) Women’s rights in receiving compensation and getting employed can hardly be protected. In compensation distribution, some women cannot sign to receive compensation because they are not household heads. Therefore, they are likely to be passive in using compensation. At the construction and operation stages, female laborers are likely to be treated unfairly, such as recruitment, reward and labor protection.

Interview 6-8: Ms Liu, Shangquanping Village, Donggong Town, Nanzhang County (48 years) I usually do housework at home, and my husband would attend village meetings. I’m used to that.

3) Women’s safety may be threatened due to increased leisure time. After land transfer, some unemployed men may threaten the safety of women, which is adverse to social stability. 4) Local women other than SFC members are likely to be marginalized. Although SFCs already have many members, many local farmers have not joined SFCs, including many women, who cannot enjoy membership rights, such as training and production materials provide by SFCs. This may affect their agricultural quality, output and income. The Gender Action Plan and Social Action Plan of the Project have been developed in consultation with the PMOs, IAs, local women’s federations and other agencies concerned. See Table 7-1.

38 7 Social Action Plan and Implementation 7.1 Organizational setup and responsibilities for social management In order to ensure the successful implementation of resettlement as expected, an organizational structure must be established at the implementation stage to plan, coordinate and monitor resettlement activities. Since resettlement is a comprehensive task that requires the cooperation of different agencies, the departments concerned will participate in and support resettlement implementation. Since May 2019, the resettlement agencies have been established successively, and their responsibilities defined. See Figure 7-1. ➢ Hubei PMO ➢ Honghu City Agriculture Bureau ➢ Jingshan City Agriculture Bureau ➢ Xiaonan District Agriculture Bureau ➢ Tongcheng County Agriculture Bureau ➢ Zhongxiang Municipal Agriculture Bureau ➢ Duodao District Agriculture Bureau ➢ Tongshan County Agriculture Bureau ➢ Nanzhang County Agriculture Bureau ➢ Yiling District Agriculture Bureau ➢ Gong’an County Agriculture Bureau ➢ Xian’an District Agriculture Bureau ➢ SFCs ➢ Village committees ➢ Affected households / entities ➢ Design agency ➢ External M&E agency Other agencies: natural resources and planning bureaus, women’s federations, civil affairs bureaus, labor and social security bureaus, etc. ➢ Hubei PMO Responsible mainly for organizing the resettlement of the Project, formulating policies on resettlement activities of the Project, and coordinating relations among the resettlement agencies at all levels ➢ County / county-level city / district agriculture bureaus 1) Implementing major decisions made by the leading group 2) Responsible for overall project management, coordination, supervision and direction 3) Contacting the competent state, provincial and municipal authorities, and coordinating with the Bank and the consulting agency 4) Implementing legal documents signed with the Bank, and reporting project progress to the leading group and the Bank 5) Appointing a resettlement consulting agency to prepare the RAP 6) Appointing an external M&E agency to conduct external M&E ➢ SFCs 1) Participating in the DMS 2) Participating in the calculation of compensation for AHs 3) Participating in compensation payment 4) Participating in the handling of grievances and appeals from APs

39 5) Participating in housing land allocation 6) Participating in skills training for APs 7) Responsible for the implementation of employment measures for APs ➢ Design agency 1) Reducing resettlement impacts by optimizing the project design 2) Determining the range of LA impacts

Hubei PMO

External M&E County / city / district agency governments Government agencies concerned

County / city / district PMOs IAs

SFCs Affected townships / villages

AHs

Figure 7-7-1 Organizational chart for the Social Action Plan

7.2 Social Action Plan For the potential negative impacts of the Project, the task force has developed the Social Action Plan based on the fieldwork and through consultation with stakeholders. 7.2.1 Reducing LA and HD risks a) Develop a detailed RAP; b) Pay special attention to the income restoration of vulnerable groups in the RAP. 7.2.2 Extending agricultural skills training for SFC members to nearby farmers Since both poor residents and farmers have a great demand for training, SFCs should extend the coverage of agricultural skills training: a) Include local farmers in agricultural skills training offered by SFCs; b) Offer basic agricultural skills training and field guidance to special groups, such as poor laborers, thereby helping them deal with agricultural production effectively. 7.2.3 Giving play to the leading role of SFCs Since the Project will increase income gap, SFCs should pay attention to the development of rural areas and farmers: a) Give play to their leading role in poverty alleviation, and develop diversified operating patterns suited to local conditions, such as “SFC + leading enterprise + base + member (farmer)”, “company + SFC + research institute + government + association + base + farmer”, and “SFC + base + farmer”; b) Include more farmers in SFCs, and offer diversified jobs and technical guidance.

40 7.2.4 Avoiding secondary risks rationally, and giving priority to technical guidance Although the Project will bring advanced cultivation and stockbreeding skills to SFCs to improve their profitability, this will also lead to secondary risks, such as low or no income from learning from SFCs due to the lack of skills: a) SFCs should offer modern agricultural skills to farmers in need through skills training; b) SFCs should invest part of the project loan in skills training. 7.2.5 Advocating differentiated cultivation to avoid pests and diseases The local SFCs develop local characteristic cultivation and stockbreeding through large-scale operation mainly, which will generate an economy of scale while bringing some impacts. To avoid such risks, SFCs should control the scale of cultivation rationally, and advocate differentiated cultivation. 7.2.6 Making jobs first available to local female labor a) Pay more attention to the employment of surplus female laborers during project construction; b) Make some jobs first available to women to involve more women in the Project. 7.2.7 Taking appropriate measures to reduce construction impacts a) Take appropriate measures to ensure construction safety; b) Screen cultural relics before construction to avoid damages; c) Conduct publicity before construction, and carry out construction in segments to minimize impacts on nearby stores; d) Take measures to control noise; e) Sprinkle access roads regularly to prevent flying dust; f) Set up non-horning signs in densely populated areas, and avoid overnight construction where possible. The Gender Action Plan and Social Action Plan of the Project have been developed in consultation with the PMOs, IAs, local women’s federations and other agencies concerned. See Table 7-1.

41 Table 7-7-1 Social Action Plan and Gender Action Plan Risk Measures or actions Actors Time Funding Monitoring indicators 1) LA and HD a) Develop a detailed RAP; PMO, owner, Preparation, Project a) RAP risks b) Pay special attention to the income restoration of vulnerable RAP preparation construction budget groups in the RAP; agency, external c) Offer temporary residences to APs during the transition period. M&E agency 2) Extending a) Include local farmers in agricultural skills training offered by PMO, SFCs, Operation Project a) Frequency of training; agricultural SFCs; agriculture budget, b) Size of training; skills training b) Offer basic agricultural skills training and field guidance to bureaus government c) Trainees special groups, such as poor laborers, thereby helping them deal finance with agricultural production effectively. 3) Job a) Recruit a certain number of vulnerable residents for PMOs; PMO, SFCs, Construction, Contractor a) Number and proportion of women and poor opportunities b) Employ a certain number of female workers for SFCs, such as labor and social operation budget residents doing unskilled jobs generated by for vulnerable catering service, packing, cleaning and security; security bureaus, the Project; groups c) Offer training to recruited and employed female and poor village b) Number of women and poor residents workers; committees, local doing public welfare jobs at the operation d) Make sure that unskilled jobs generated by the Project are first women stage; made available to vulnerable groups, including women; c) Venue, scope and frequency of training e) Ensure equal pay to equal work. 4) Giving play a) Give play to their leading role in poverty alleviation, and PMO, SFCs, Construction, Project a) Coverage of SFC; to the leading develop diversified operating patterns suited to local conditions, township operation budget, b) Poor population served by SFC; role of SFCs such as “SFC + leading enterprise + base + member (farmer)”, governments, government c) Employment of SFC “company + SFC + research institute + government + association village finance + base + farmer”, and “SFC + base + farmer”; committees b) Include more farmers in SFCs, and offer diversified jobs and technical guidance. 5) Avoiding a) SFCs should offer modern agricultural skills to farmers in need Owner, SFCs, Construction, Project a) Number of skilled talents; secondary risks through skills training; agriculture operation budget b) Frequency of agricultural skills training rationally, and b) SFCs should invest part of the project loan in skills training. bureaus, giving priority to township technical governments, guidance village committees 6) Construction a) Avoid construction vehicles from affecting surrounding crops PMO, contractor, Preparation, EMP budget a) Deceleration strips and warning signs; risks and threatening personal safety; SFCs construction b) Number of tourists per day; b) Minimize the impact of construction on nearby scenic spots; c) Grievances about environmental pollution c) Take measures to control noise; and handling; d) Sprinkle access roads regularly to prevent flying dust; d) Inclusion of construction safety e) Set up non-horning signs in densely populated areas, and management in construction contracts, and

42 avoid overnight construction where possible. safety awareness publicity and education; e) Number of signs and repaired public facilities 7) Improving a. All relevant occupational health and safety measures are PMO, SFCs Preparation, EMP budget a) Percentage of vulnerable groups the labor and applied to the Project based on the applicable laws, regulations construction employed; working and industry best practices. b) Protective measures for women, the conditions to b) Project staff should be employed on the basis of equal disabled and child laborers; protect the opportunities and fair treatment, and there should be no c) Frequency of training and education on lawful rights discrimination against any personal feature unrelated to the workers’ organization; and interests of inherent job requirements; d) Frequency of collective bargaining laborers c) No forced labor will be used in the Project, including any type of e) Details of grievances and appeals involuntary or forced labor, such as contractual, bonded or similar labor; d) The Labor Law stipulates that workers have the right to establish and join worker organizations, and conduct collective bargaining. e) An appeal mechanism should be provided for all direct and contractual workers to file appeals on workplace issues. Such mechanism aims to address relevant issues instantly through a comprehensible and transparent procedure, and provide a timely feedback channel in a comprehensible language (no retaliation). Such mechanism should operate independently and objectively, and should not prevent workers from seeking judicial or administrative remedies.

7.3 Public participation plan The following information disclosure and public participation plan has been developed on the basis of the fieldwork through participatory observation. See Table 7-2.

Table 7-7-2 Public participation plan of the Project Stage Item Modes Actors Participants Proposed topics Funding Project TV, broadcast, poster, PMOs, township Local residents, township Disclosing basic project information; Project Preparation information leaflet, village governments, officials, PMOs Collecting comments and suggestions from local budget disclosure congress, village village committees residents; meeting, Internet Answering questions of local residents Participation in Interview, FGD, PMOs, consulting Villagers, PMOs, Encouraging local residents to give comments and Project

project design disclosure agency consulting agency, village suggestions on project design budget committees Disclosing the preliminary design in project villages for

43 comments and suggestions LA Consultation Village committees, Villagers, village Confirming land occupation; Project PMOs committees, PMOs, land Determining the mode of compensation through budget and resources bureau consultation Entering into compensation agreements Construction Villager congress, PMOs, contractor, Villagers, PMOs, Construction schedule; / information bulletin board, poster, village committees contractor, village Construction site distribution; disclosure broadcast committees Main construction impacts; Safety concerns for local residents Contact information of contractor Reduction of Improving relevant PMOs PMOs, contractor Allowing for the passage of local residents during road Project construction programs, and Construction Transport bureau, traffic excavation; budget impacts developing effective agency police, environmental Taking dust and noise reduction measures; mitigation measures Village supervision protection bureau Keeping away from residential areas where possible; committees Village supervision Identifying impacts of temporary land occupation committees, villager reps. Construction Participation in Village meet, village PMOs, contractor, Villagers, PMOs, Determining jobs generated by the Project; Internal construction congress Village committees contractor, village Determining the selection criteria of construction staff; budget of committees Determining the remuneration system, and skills and contractor safety training for construction staff

Management of Expanding safety and PMOs PMOs, contractor Conducting education on public health and AIDS Project migrant workers health publicity, Contractor Health bureau, township prevention, and including this in construction contracts; budget regulating worker Health bureau and community hospitals Conducting physical checkups for construction education and Village supervision Village committees, village workers; management committees supervision committees Strengthen publicity on local social and cultural Local residents Migrant workers, residents customs for non-local workers to reduce potential conflicts Agricultural skills Workshop PMOs, agriculture Villagers, village Improving the modern agriculture awareness of SFC Special training bureaus, village committees, transport members and farmers, and learning advanced funds of committees bureau cultivation, stockbreeding and management skills agencies

Operation concerned Grievance TV, broadcast, poster, PMOs, government PMOs, government Disclosing grievance redress information at / redress leaflet, village agencies agencies concerned, appropriate locations; congress, village concerned, village village committees Handling grievances and appeals on site, by letter or meeting, Internet committees by telephone; Collect comments from women, the poor and other vulnerable groups, and ensuring fair and open project implementation

44 8. Grievance Redress and M&E 8.1 Grievance Redress In order to learn and address potential impacts on stakeholders at the preparation, construction and operation stages, and ensure extensive public participation, an effective grievance redress mechanism has been established as follows: Stage 1: If any right of any AP is infringed on in any aspect of LA and resettlement, he/she may report this to the village committee, which shall record such appeal and solve it together with the village committee or the AP within two weeks. Stage 2: If the appellant is dissatisfied with the disposition of Stage 1, he/she may file an appeal to the county / county-level city / district PMO, which shall make a disposition within two weeks. Stage 3: If the appellant is still dissatisfied with the disposition of Stage 2, he/she may file an appeal to the Hubei PMO, which shall make a disposition within two weeks. Stage 4: If the appellant is still dissatisfied with the disposition of Stage 3, he/she may bring apply for arbitration with competent administrative agencies level by level in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Law of the PRC. Stage 5: If the appellant is still dissatisfied with the disposition of Stage 4, he/she may bring a suit in a civil court directly in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of the PRC.

8.2 M&E M&E is an important way to ensure that the Project is implemented as planned, and the Social Action Plan is implemented properly. M&E is also an important error-correcting and participation mechanism for the Project. In view of this, an M&E mechanism has been established for the Project, including internal supervision and external M&E. Internal supervision is conducted by the PMO on project implementation progress, the implementation of the Social Action Plan, progress of information disclosure and public participation, fund use, the implementation of rules and regulations, etc. The PMO will appoint an independent M&E agency to conduct external M&E on the implementation of the Social Action Plan. The external M&E agency will conduct regular M&E, give advice, and submit M&E reports to the Bank.

45 Appendix 1: Summary of FGDs with Residents Survey Subject Hour Venue Survey mode and scope Remarks date Yunhong Orange SFC 1) FGD with women: 16 (<30 years: 7; 30-55 years: 5; >55 years: 4) Aug. Yiling Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC 2) FGD with old people: 22 (male: 13; female: 9) 10: 00 27-28 District Academician workstation 3) FGD with minority residents: 7 Xingxiang Farm Product SFC 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 9 (poor residents: 4; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 4) 1) FGD with women: 17 (<30 years: 8; 30-55 years: 4; >55 years: 5) Jingmen 2) FGD with old people: 9 (male: 6; female: 3) Aug. 29 10:00 Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd. City 3) FGD with minority residents: 6 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 15 (poor residents: 8; disabled persons: 2; MLS subjects: 5) Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC 1) FGD with women: 18 (<30 years: 5; 30-55 years: 7; >55 years: 6) Aug. Nanzhang Xiangming Tealeaf SFC 2) FGD with old people: 26 (male: 15; female: 11) 9: 30 29-30 County Qinglianghe Vegetable Cultivation 3) FGD with minority residents: 7 SFC 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 12 (poor residents: 8; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 3) 1) FGD with women: 28 (<30 years: 8; 30-55 years: 10; >55 years: 10) Lianli Aquaculture SFC Aug. 31 – Zhongxian 2) FGD with old people: 48 (male: 30; female: 18) 10:00 Chunyuan Crop Cultivation SFC Sep. 2 g City 3) FGD with minority residents: 7 Union 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 18 (poor residents: 13; disabled persons: 2; MLS subjects: 3) Shendi Hen Breeding SFC 1) FGD with women: 16 (<30 years: 7; 30-55 years: 5; >55 years: 4) Jingshan Qianchangsheng Land Joint-stock 2) FGD with old people: 21 (male: 10; female: 11) Sep. 3-4 14:30 City SFC 3) FGD with minority residents: 8 Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 8 (poor residents: 4; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 3) Chunlu Crop Cultivation SFC 1) FGD with women: 20 (<30 years: 7; 30-55 years: 8; >55 years: 5) Gong’an Huagui Aquatic Vegetable 2) FGD with old people: 22 (male: 12; female: 10) Aug. 30 9:00 County Cultivation SFC 3) FGD with minority residents: 7 Xinhongye Food Co., Ltd. 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 10 (poor residents: 6; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 3) Banqiao Loquat SFC 1) FGD with women: 20 (<30 years: 5; 30-55 years: 7; >55 years: 8) Tongshan Banqiao Loquat SFC 2) FGD with old people: 34 (male: 20; female: 14) Sep. 6 9:00 County Hongmao Ecological Species 3) FGD with minority residents: 6 Breeding SFC Jiujingfeng Tealeaf Cultivation SFC 1) FGD with women: 17 (<30 years: 2; 30-55 years: 8; >55 years: 7) Jinshan Tealeaf SFC 2) FGD with old people: 18 (male: 8; female: 10) Gaofeng Organic Tea SFC 3) FGD with minority residents: 6 Tongchen Yuegushan Tealeaf SFC 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 9 (poor residents: 3; disabled persons: 2; MLS subjects: 4) Sep. 2-3 9:00 g County Yunzhi Ecological Farm Xinhongxin Pig Raising SFC Tianjian Pig SFC Xiaguang Tealeaf SFC

46 High-quality Rice Development SFC Union Chunlu Crop Cultivation SFC 1) FGD with women: 17 (<30 years: 6; 30-55 years: 5; >55 years: 6) Aug. 31 – Honghu Huagui Aquatic Vegetable 2) FGD with old people: 23 (male: 14; female: 9) 9:00 Sep. 1 City Cultivation SFC 3) FGD with minority residents: 8 Xinhongye Food Co., Ltd. 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 9 (poor residents: 6; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 2) 1) FGD with women: 18 (<30 years: 7; 30-55 years: 4; >55 years: 7) Xian’an 2) FGD with old people: 18 (male: 12; female: 6) Sep. 2 9:00 Shentong Stockbreeding Co., Ltd. District 3) FGD with minority residents: 7 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 13 (poor residents: 7; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 5) 1) FGD with women: 16 (<30 years: 7; 30-55 years: 5; >55 years: 4) Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Xiaonan 2) FGD with old people: 16 (male: 8; female: 8) Sep. 11 8:00 Ltd. District 3) FGD with minority residents: 4 Xiangrun Rice Cultivation SFC 4) FGD with vulnerable groups: 14 (poor residents: 9; disabled persons: 1; MLS subjects: 4)

47 Appendix 2: Summary of Field Investigation

County / Prefecture county-level city SFC Township Village -level city / district Economic Jingshan City Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC Yihe Development Zone Jingmen Zhongxiang City Changlong Cultivation SFC Changshou Town Huangpo Duodao District Jingmen Minfeng Grease Co., Ltd. Tuanlinpu Town / Honghu City Chunlu Crop Cultivation SFC Wulin Town Wangjiazhou Jingzhou Gong’an County Colorful Sunshine Land Joint-stock SFC Zhangzhuangpu Town Xingang Nanzhang Xiangyang Xiangming Tealeaf SFC Xiaoyan Town Zhouwan County Xian’an District Green Cycle Eco-agriculture Co., Ltd. Shuangxiqiao Town Jiushan Tongshan County Banqiao Loquat SFC / / Xianning Tongcheng Sizhuang Xiang Huajia Tianjian Pig SFC County Shadui Town / Xiaogan Xiaonan District Fuliangshan Agro-technology Co., Ltd. Xihe Town Yunfeng Longquan Town Tumen Bio-industry Park / Yichang Yiling District Xiaoxi Red Orange SFC Yaqueling Town Jinhe Taipingxi Town Huangjiachong Planned SFCs Qianchangsheng Land Joint-stock SFC Qianchang Town Wuling Jingshan City Shendi Hen Breeding SFC Qianchang Town Shuling Jingmen Chunyuan Crop Cultivation SFC Union Changtan Town Xianfeng Zhongxiang City Lianli Aquaculture SFC Wenji Town / Zhongxiang Municipal Agriculture Bureau All townships / Wanquan Town / Huagui Aquatic Vegetable Cultivation SFC Fengkou Town Tujing Honghu City Xiaogang Xinhongye Food Co., Ltd. Lianzixi Administrative Area Jingzhou Lily SFC Zhangzhuangpu Town Tongqiao Xinsheng Land Join-stock SFC Mengjiaxi Town Qinglong Gong’an County Shenjindu Group Co., Ltd. Shikou Town Xuanshuitan Meilingbao Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd. Zhangzhuangpu Town Fenghuang Nanzhang Donggongzhaizi Cultivation SFC Donggong Town Shangquanping Xiangyang County Qinglianghe Vegetable Cultivation SFC Limiao Town Zhaodian Banqiao Loquat SFC Dafan Town Banqiao Tongshan County Hongmao Ecological Cultivation and Jiugongshan Town Fanzhong Breeding SFC Jiujingfeng Tealeaf Cultivation SFC Shadui Town Gangbei Junshui TownJinshan Jinshan Tealeaf SFC Youfang Xiang Gaofeng Organic Tea SFC Magang Town Gaofeng Xianning Yuegushan Tealeaf SFC Daping Xiang Xiafan Tongcheng Yunzhi Ecological Farm Guandao Town Ligang County Xinhongxin Pig Raising SFC Junshui Town Gumingshan Tanghu Town Xinzhuang Xiaguang Tealeaf SFC Sizhuang Xiang Sibei Shinan Town Huating High-quality Rice Development SFC Union Junshui Town Shangkuo Yunhong Orange SFC Yaqueling Town Yuntai Yichang Yiling District Xingxiang Farm Product SFC Xiaoxita Town Guanzhuang Yihong Early Tea SFC Taipingxi Town Huangjiachong

48 Appendix 3: Summary of Interviewees

Chapter Details of interviewees Interview 3-1: Mr. Wang, Nanzhang County (53 years) Interview 3-2: Mr. Zhang, head of Banqiao Loquat SFC, Tongshan County (55 years) 3 Interview 3-3: Ms Wang, Yangbao Village, Xian’an District (36 years) Interview 3-4: Ms Zhou, Longtanping Village, Yiling District, Yichang City (35 years) Interview 4-1: Mr. Li, Guanzhuang Village, Yiling District, Yichang City (38 years) Interview 4-2: Mr. Zhou, head of Shentong Stockbreeding Co., Ltd., Xian’an District (52 years) Interview 4-3: Mr. Chen, Huangjingtang Village, Xian’an District (49 years) Interview 4-4: Mr. Yang, Fandian Village, Tongcheng County (48 years) 4 Interview 4-5: Uncle Zhang, Huangjiachong Village, Yiling District (47 years) Interview 4-6: Mr. Zhao, Chengu Village, Wuli Town, Tongcheng County (43 years) Interview 4-7: Mr. Liu, Xinrong Village, Zhangzhuangpu Town, Gong’an County (43 years) Interview 4-8: Ms Wang, head of Xingxiang Farm Product SFC (53 years) Interview 4-9: Mr. Zhao, Yinong Rice Cultivation SFC, Jingshan City (48 years) Interview 5-1: Ms Cai, Yaoxing Village, Gong’an County (58 years) 5 Interview 5-2: Mr. Li, Fanzhong Village, Tongshan County (57 years) Interview 5-3: Mr. Zhou, Yanshan Village, Zhongxiang City (49 years) Interview 6-1: Ms Li, Wuling Village, Qianchang Town, Jingshan City (45 years) Interview 6-2: Ms Wang, Wenji Village, Zhongxiang City (50 years) Interview 6-3: Ms Wang, Duodao District, Jingmen City (44 years) Interview 6-4: Ms Sun, Huangjiachong Village, Yiling District, Yichang City (38 years) 6 Interview 6-5: Ms Zhou, Yunfeng Village, Xihe Town, Xiaonan District (38 years) Interview 6-6: Ms Chen, Yuegu Village, Daping Xiang, Tongcheng County (44 years) Interview 6-7: Ms Liu, Shuling Village, Jingshan City (48 years) Interview 6-8: Ms Liu, Shangquanping Village, Donggong Town, Nanzhang County (48 years)

Appendix 4: Fieldwork Photos

Fieldwork in Xiaonan District Fieldwork in Jingshan City

49 Fieldwork in Nanzhang County Fieldwork in Yiling District

Fieldwork in Duodao District Fieldwork in Tongcheng County

Fieldwork in Gong’an County Fieldwork in Tongshan County

Fieldwork in Honghu City Fieldwork in Xian’an District

50 Appendix 5: Identification of Resettlement Impacts

Prefecture Prefecture level city level County / DDR county Transferred land SFC Township Village Resettlement impacts Transfer mode or -level city / area RPF

district The land used is state-owned land (industrial Transfer of 97,500 Admission with land, with a land land) of the industrial park, acquired in 2015. mu of land transfer price of 500 yuan/mu A land title certificate was obtained in 2018. and a transfer period of at least Chunlu Crop Wangjiazhou,

Jingzhou Honghu City Wulin Town There is no outstanding issue. 5 years; profit distribution by RPF Cultivation SFC Siwumen Land transfer agreements were signed with shares farmers during 2015-2017, and the sum has been fully paid. The land used is collective construction land Transfer of over Admission with land, with a land Colorful Sunshine Gong’an Zhangzhuangpu Xingang, (agricultural facility land) acquired in 2018. 10,200 mu of land transfer price 0.8 yuan/m2 per Land Joint-stock RPF County Town Xinrong A land transfer agreement was signed at the annum; profit distribution by SFC end of 2017, and the sum has been fully paid. shares Green Cycle 30 mu of agricultural facility land is used for Transfer of over 220 Rental: 300 yuan/mu per annum RPF Xian’an Shuangxiqiao Eco-agriculture Co., Jiushan expansion, in which 11 mu has been mu of land for the first 5 years, increased by / District Town

Xianning Ltd. acquired, and 19 mu is to be acquired. 10% per annum from Year 6 RAP 38 mu of collective land was acquired, and an Over 6,000 mu of Rental: 120 yuan/mu per annum Tongshan Banqiao Loquat agreement signed in 2018. A land title land to be for the first 5 years, increased by Dafan Town Dakeng DDR County SFC certificate has been obtained. The transferred, 370 mu 20% per annum from Year 6 compensation is 1.4 million yuan. transferred to date Tongcheng Sizhuang Xiang Huajia The land transfer agreement for the two 15.4 mu Profit distribution at 1,000 yuan Tianjian Pig SFC RPF County Shadui Town breeding bases was signed in 2016. per share Tumen, 53 mu of land needed for the orange market 1,000 mu Land transfer price: 1,200-1,500 Longquan Town Shuifumiao and the distribution center was acquired in yuan/mu per annum

Yichang Bio-industry 2015. There is no outstanding issue. A title Xiaoxi Red Orange Yiling District Park certificate for farmland was obtained in 2012. RPF SFC Land transfer agreements have been signed, Yaqueling Town Jinhe involving 20,000 mu of land and 2,000 Taipingxi Town Huangjiachong households in total. Land title certificates were obtained for the 3 5,000 mu, Rental:

Jingmen RPF Duodao Jingmen Minfeng plots in 2008, 2010 and 2013, with no 7,000-8,000 persons Seasonal transfer, 200-300 Tuanlin Town (RA District Grease Co., Ltd. outstanding issue. A transfer agreement was yuan/mu per annum P) signed for 5,000 mu of land in 2018.

Jingshan Yinong Rice The land for the reconstruction of a 2,160 m2 5,430 mu Rental: 790 yuan/mu per annum (TB / / City Cultivation SFC single-storied warehouse was acquired in transferred, and for 5,430 mu, 700 yuan/mu per D)

51 2018, but LA and HD compensation has not 6,677 mu contracted annum for 6,677 mu been completed yet. 14,500 mu of land has been transferred in 14,500 mu of land Profit distribution: by shares total, including 500 mu in 2016 and 14,000 transferred, covering Rental: 800 yuan/mu for 500 mu Zhongxiang Changlong Changshou Huangpo mu in 2018. 399 persons in 6 and 600 yuan/mu for 14,000 mu RPF City Cultivation SFC Town villages per annum, paid annually for 10 years

Xiangyang A land title certificate was obtained in 2012, Over 1,000 mu Profit distribution: Members offer and 1,000 mu of land has been transferred, transferred, involving land and are hired by the SFC. Nanzhang Xiangming Tealeaf Xiaoyan Town Zhouwan involving no compensation. over 40 persons in The net income of each plot is RPF County SFC one village the gross selling price of tealeaf

minus the cost.

Xiaogan Reconstructed on the former site, specific 1,200 mu of land Rental: 300-500 yuan/mu for Fuliangshan Xiaonan location unclear transferred ordinary land, 50 yuan/mu for Agro-technology Xihe Town Yunfeng RPF District hilly land and 200 yuan/mu for Co., Ltd. slope land per annum Planned SFCs Wanquan Town Wufeng River The LA compensation agreement was signed Over 2,000 mu in Company + base + farmer in 2017, and the land compensation has total, 148.33 mu of Rental: 900 yuan/mu, 3 years’ Huagui Aquatic been fully paid. transferred rental paid at a time Vegetable RPF Fengkou Town Tujing A land transfer agreement was signed in Cultivation SFC Honghu City 2017, and the sum has been fully paid, affecting 200-300 persons. Xiaogang A land title certificate was obtained in 2014, / / Xinhongye Food Administrative Lianzixi, Zhenyi and changed to a property certificate in 2017. RPF Co., Ltd.

Jingzhou Area Tongqiao, The land was acquired in 2015, and a land 19,858 mu of land Land transfer price: 0.8-1 Baihe, title certificate obtained in 2017. transferred yuan/m2 per annum, paid in Zhangzhuangpu Lily SFC Shizuimen, A land transfer agreement was signed in cash in installments RPF Town Shimenzui, 2014, and the sum has been fully paid, Fenghuang affecting 1,557 households in 5 villages. Gong’an The agricultural facility land was transferred 6,576 mu, 800 mu Farmer and collective shares: County in 2017 under an agreement. and 1,000 mu in 2.36 mu/share, 1,257 Qinglong, Xinsheng Land Qinglong, Yuejin yuan/share per annum; profit Mengjiaxi Town Yuejin, RPF Join-stock SFC and Shuanghu distributed between farmer and Shuanghu Villages transferred SFC at 2:8 respectively Shenjindu Group Shikou Town Xuanshuitan The land was transferred in 2018, and the 1,534.22 mu, Rental: 1 yuan/m2 per annum DD

52 Co., Ltd. office building is in masonry concrete including 655.41 mu for irrigated land, 0.6 yuan/m2 R structure. of non-irrigated land per annum for non-irrigated and 1,644.76 mu of land, paid annually irrigated land A land transfer agreement was signed in Over 200 mu of land Company + base + farmer, 8 Meilingbao Modern Zhangzhuangpu Fenghuang, 2015, and the sum has been fully paid. transferred, 800 mu million yuan paid for land RPF Agriculture Co., Ltd. Town Xingang not covered transfer

About 200 SFCs About 200 Shentong A land title certificate was obtained in 2017, 422 mu RPF Stockbreeding Tingsiqiao Town Huangjingtang and the land was transferred in 2007, 2011 RPF Co., Ltd. and 2018 respectively. Xian’an The land was transferred in 2010, and a land 747.5 mu (537.5 mu RPF District Wen’s Shuangxiqiao transfer agreement has been signed, with no of hilly land, 150 mu Stockbreeding Jiushan RPF Town outstanding issue. of waste farmland Co., Ltd. and 60 mu of pond) A land compensation agreement was signed 400 mu The SFC applies for land with with farmers in 2014, and a planning permit the government, distributes Banqiao Loquat Dafan Town Banqiao obtained in 2016. There is no outstanding seedlings for free, and RPF SFC issue. purchases loquat at market Tongshan price in a unified manner. County A land compensation agreement was signed 800 mu Rental: 552 yuan/mu, paid Hongmao with farmers in 2015, a planning permit annually for 5 years

Xianning Ecological Jiugongshan Fanzhong, obtained in 2016, and a business license RPF Cultivation and Town Wangjiafan obtained in 2018. Breeding SFC The land was transferred in 2015.

The land was transferred in 2009, formerly 1,500-1,600 mu, / Jiujingfeng Tealeaf Shadui Town Gangbei state-owned land, with compensation of over including 530 mu for RPF Cultivation SFC 900,000 yuan. the tealeaf base The land (state-owned industrial land) was 1,960 mu, including SFC + base + farmer Junshui acquired in 2002, and a land title certificate 960 mu of organic Jinshan Tealeaf TownJinshan Youfang obtained in 2013, covering 16 villages. A land tea RPF SFC Xiang transfer agreement was signed in 2014, and Tongcheng the sum has been fully paid. County The land was transferred in 2014, and there 2,000 mu in total 30 yuan/mu for woodland, 50 is no outstanding issue. yuan/mu for waste farmland and Gaofeng Organic Gaofeng, 200 yuan/mu for irrigated land, Magang Town RPF Tea SFC Cheng’ao paid in cash annually, increased by 2 yuan per annum 5 years later Yuegushan Tealeaf Daping Xiang Xiafan, Yuegu The land (industrial land) was transferred in Over 200 mu SFC + base + farmer RPF

53 SFC 2012, and a land title certificate was obtained The transfer price is 500 in 2013. The sum has been fully paid, and yuan/mu per annum, and the there is no outstanding issue. rental for the first 5 years is paid at the time of agreement signing. Rental is paid annually afterwards. A lease agreement was signed in 2013. The 314 mu Rental: 200 yuan/mu per Yunzhi Ecological Guandao Town Ligang sum has been fully paid, and there is no annum, to be increased every 5 RPF Farm outstanding issue. years A lease agreement was signed in 2016. The 60 mu Rental: 520 yuan/mu per annum Xinhongxin Pig Junshui Town Gumingshan sum has been fully paid, and there is no for hilly land and 600 yuan/mu RPF Raising SFC outstanding issue. per annum for farmland Tanghu Town Xinzhuang The land (state-owned industrial land) was Over 1,500 mu Transfer price: 300 yuan/mu per Xiaguang Tealeaf Sizhuang Xiang Sibei transferred in 2004 and 2017. annum, 15 years RPF SFC Company + SFC + base + Shinan Town Huating farmer High-quality Rice The land was transferred in 2015, and a land 400 mu 300-500 yuan/mu per annum, Shangkuo, Development SFC Junshui Town title certificate was obtained in 2007. There is paid annually in cash at a time RPF Wanchuanzui Union no outstanding issue. A land transfer agreement was signed in 18,000 mu 1,000-1,200 yuan/mu, paid Yunhong Orange Yuntai and Yaqueling Town 2017, and a land title certificate was obtained annually in cash at a time RPF SFC other 7 villages in 2014. There is no outstanding issue. A land transfer agreement has been signed, 4,376 mu SFC + company + farm + base

Yichang Xingxiang Farm and a land title certificate was obtained in + member DD Xiaoxita Town Guanzhuang Product SFC May 2019. There is no outstanding issue. Rental: 1,000 yuan/mu per R Yiling District annum, paid at a time

Longtanping, A land transfer agreement has been signed, 500 mu 5000 yuan per annum, paid Huangjiachong and a land title certificate was obtained in annually Yihong Early Tea DD Taipingxi Town , Xujiachong, 2019. The sum has been fully paid. SFC R Changling, Fucunping The land was acquired in 2017, and a land 3,000 mu, covering Rental: 300 kg of rice Qianchangsheng Jingtiao, Qianchang title certificate is pending. There is no 458 households in 4 Profit distribution: by shares Land Joint-stock Liaochong, RPF Jingmen Jingshan Town outstanding issue. villages Subsidy: granted directly to SFC Wuling City farmers by the state Shendi Hen No additional land is involved. 26 households Equity participation with / / RPF Breeding SFC equipment, no profit distribution Zhongxiang New Layout Grain A land transfer agreement was signed in 3,000 mu Profit distribution: by shares Huji Town Pingyan RPF City Cultivation SFC 2014, and a new agreement signed in 2018. Rental: 500 yuan/mu per

54 annum, for 5-10 years. Paid annually The land was acquired in 2013, and a 4,700 mu Rental: 750 yuan/mu per annum Longlife and Safety Changshou Huangpo certificate was obtained in 2016. A land Profit distribution: in cash and RPF Cultivaiton SFC Town transfer agreement was signed in 2014. kind (based on rice output) Chunyuan Crop A notice of land registration was received in Over 26,000 mu Rental: 500 yuan/mu per annum Cultivation SFC Changtan Town Xianfeng 2017. Profit distribution: by shares RPF Union A land transfer agreement was signed in 100 mu Rental: 600 yuan per annum Qianye Edible 2009. Profit distribution: 10% of net Zhangji Town Yunlingzhai RPF Fungus SFC profit withdrawn first, 60% and 30% refunded later Kangji, Weihu, A land transfer agreement was signed in 1,200 mu Rental: 100 yuan/mu per annum Lianli Aquaculture Wenji Town Zhangdang, 2017, and an application was filed in June RPF SFC Yanshan 2019, pending approval. Xianbaxi Crop SFC Fengle Town Shengang No new land is acquired. 500 mu Rental: 300/mu per annum RPF A land transfer agreement was signed in Over 3,000 mu Rental: 600 yuan/mu per 2017, and a land title certificate obtained in annum, paid annually Yinong Straw SFC Wenji Town RPF 2014. Profit distribution: 50% of after-tax net profit Panfeng Selenium A land title certificate was obtained in 2013. 450 mu Rental: 500/mu per annum -rich High-oleic-acid Fengle Town Longquangang RPF Rape Cultivation SFC Zhongxiang No LA is involved. Municipal All townships Agriculture Bureau A land transfer agreement was signed in 5,000 mu (1,248 mu Rental + profit distribution:

Xiangyang Donggongzhaizi Shangquanpin 2016. already transferred) 500 yuan/mu per annum, profit Donggong Town RPF Cultivation SFC g distributed based on land area Nanzhang at each year end County Qinglianghe A land transfer agreement was signed for 500 mu (283 mu Rental: 400 yuan/mu per Vegetable Limiao Town Zhaodian 283 mu in 2017, and one for 236 mu in 2019, already transferred) annum, 20% of profit used for RPF Cultivation SFC but the land has not been put into use. collective construction

Xiaogan The land (agricultural facility land) was 1,070 mu Rental: 700 yuan/mu per Xiaonan Xiangrun Rice Dougang Town Chaoyang approved in 2013, and no additional LA is annum, in which 100 yuan/mu is RPF District Cultivation SFC involved. paid to the collective