20 | Thursday, March 7, 2019 CHINA DAILY

FARMERS GROW WAY TO PROSPERITY

Government By CHEN HONG seeds, guarantee the water supply employed or started their own busi- [email protected] and sometimes weed. The mosses ness — on average 1.78 persons in efforts to raise the can grow very well,” said Qu, adding every household — in 2018. living standards of An agricultural revolution is pulling that the villagers now have time to Started in 2016, it is expected that millions of people out of poverty in take temporary jobs in the town for a total of 1.88 million people will be poor people have Southwest China’s Guizhou province. extra money. relocated by the end of June 2019, focused on using Long Jiayi, 33, is a beneficiary of the He also invited experts from the according to the government. modern agricultural government campaign that encourag- administration and universities to Hu Guozhen, vice-governor of the es farmers to grow cash crops on the guide the farmers and raised funds Qiandongnan Miao and Dong auton- techniques to kick- land they cultivated with traditional to improve planting and processing omous prefecture and a member of start China’s vast crops for generations. skills and equipment. the standing committee of the 12th Two years ago, with the support of Statistics show that 266.7 hectares National Committee of the Chinese rural economies the village’s governing body, his fam- of sphagnum was planted at Zilin- People’s Political Consultative Con- ily started to grow sphagnum, a kind shan village as of the beginning of ference, said relocation of families of natural moss with a high economic 2019. It could make 12 million yuan a is an important method in poverty value. It can be used in potted plants year, up 12.5 percent from a year ago. alleviation. to replace the soil. Nearly 500 families, or 80 percent A farmer dries sphagnum in the sun. Dried sphagnum will be sold However, the limited time and vari- The approach is “We planted 11 mu (0.73 hectares) of village households, joined the pro- in the flower market. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY ous difficulties make it a challenge. enlightening, which I of sphagnum and can harvest nearly gram, which can earn them each It’s important to help them live and 3,000 kilograms in total, which can be more than 20,000 yuan annually. work after relocation, Hu said. have never seen any- sold for roughly 60,000 yuan ($8,961) Some 307 people in 78 families in the Guizhou province and a deputy to crops — to increase farmers’ income “To guarantee their livelihood, where else and Gui- a year,” Long said. village got out of poverty in 2018. the National People’s Congress, said: by improving efficiency and econom- industries should be developed and Just a decade ago, his family grew Over the years, Guizhou has been “Our aim is to ease all the people and ic benefits of the land.” a long-term mechanism should be zhou’s experience corn and rice in their 0.27 hectares trying to lift people out of poverty counties out of poverty by 2020. To The government will help farm- taken into consideration.” is worth learning of land, which made just 3,000 yuan by agricultural revolution, reloca- solve regional poverty, basic princi- ers to choose the right sector — veg- Sun said that 2019 is a critical year annually. tion and road building, as well as ples include increasing their income, etables, tea, poultry, fungi, herbs and to beat poverty. around the world.’’ “My village is in the mountainous assistance and subsidies in education, access to housing and clothing, as other economic crops — to replace He noted that more resources will Jim Yong Kim, former area and we have limited land. We medical care and housing. well as access to education and medi- traditional corn and rice, and help be allocated to the most impover- president of the had no choice at that time but to grow “Our efforts aim to write a miracu- cal resources.” them acquire techniques, funds, man- ished villages to fulfill the target this World Bank Group the crops, or let the land lie. Young lous chapter in China’s poverty-relief Sun reiterated the importance of agement and marketing skills. year. people went outside to find jobs,” history and to provide a case study the agricultural revolution, which will Another program is to relocate peo- Jim Yong Kim, former president Long recalled. for the rest of the world,” said Sun change the rural industry’s structure ple from areas unsuitable for living. of the World Bank Group, spoke However, Zilinshan village, where Zhigang, Party secretary of Guizhou. and help farmers out of poverty. Villages with fewer than 50 house- highly of Guizhou’s mode of devel- 6.43 Long lives, was suitable for sphag- The province’s poor population was Meng Pinghong, a researcher at holds and 50 percent of its population oping the e-commerce to promote million num. This is due to the cool and cut from 9.23 million in 2012 to 2.8 the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural in poverty are moved to new govern- production and expand local markets humid weather, said Qu Jia, an offi- million in 2017. It was the biggest Sciences and a deputy to the National ment-built residential areas. in rural areas. people in Guizhou cer with the National Forestry and reduction in the country during that People’s Congress, said Guizhou has The government designs the resi- “The approach is enlightening, province were lifted out of Grassland Administration who led period, according to official figures. little flat land. dential areas to keep cultural charac- which I have never seen anywhere poverty from 2012 to 2017 the poverty-relief mission there in Li Jian, deputy secretary-general “To make good use of agricultural teristics and develop a local economy else and Guizhou’s experience is worth August 2017. of Guizhou provincial Party com- resources, we have to change the tra- so residents have job opportunities. learning around the world,” he said. “It’s an ideal place for the growth of mittee, director of the Poverty Alle- ditional farming system, adjust plant- Official figures show that about moss. The villagers just need to sow viation and Development Office of ing structures and adopt multiple 500,000 relocated people were Li Hanyi contributed to this story.

and Miao autonomous prefecture of Guizhou are key production areas Poverty alleviation efforts for Chinese green tea. The number of tea processing enterprises and cooperatives reached 5,000. In 2018, bear fruit in Guizhou town the total production volume of tea was 362,000 tons, with output value By SONG MENGXING band, meanwhile, found a security reaching 39.4 billion yuan. [email protected] guard job with a monthly salary of Zhou Shaojun, director of the 2,400 yuan and her mother made Datun village committee in Shiqian The Xinxing community in several friends in the community. county and a deputy to the National Guizhou province is home to The community is located in People’s Congress, is involved in the several new dwellings for peo- Daozhen Gelao and Miao auton- tea industry. For years, he and other ple who have moved here from omous county, a poor region in villagers have built a modern eco- impoverished areas. Among them Guizhou and near Chongqing. In Local women remove stems and impurities from fresh tea. XIAO YUYE / FOR CHINA DAILY logical tea park, based on a moun- is 36-year-old Zhu Fumin. 2016, the county began to help tain. Production reached 670 square Zhu was a local villager and about 15,000 impoverished farm- meters per family per year on aver- due to the poor living environ- ers in 14 villages and counties to age. ment, her family could not live on move. Now the tea is a major brand of their earnings from agriculture. Zhu’s family is representative of ‘King of tea’ enriches rural workers Shiqian county. The tea won nation- She had to find a job in a distant the successful poverty alleviation wide fame and is one of the top three region. campaign in Guizhou. The prov- By YUAN SHENGGAO duced 28.5 kg of tea, but only 5 kg teas in Guizhou. Her husband had a severe stom- ince plans to move 1.88 million were sold. The next year, 240 kg of 362,000 “The poverty alleviation policy has ach illness and her mother had people during the 13th Five-Year Guizhou province has the largest tea were in stock till autumn. brought more opportunities. We aim mental health problem. Zhu’s Plan period (2016-20) . area of tea gardens in China, making To find the reason, Xiao brought metric tons to make the tea industry bigger and 16-year-old son had been living Luo Yinghe, Party chief of the it a key production center for tea. about 10 bags of dark tea to the Gui- stronger,” Zhou said. in a relative’s home, which made Xinmin community in Huis- Through tea planting, processing zhou Tea Research Institute. production volume of tea The tea industry will become key to it easier for him to go to school. hui county and a deputy to the and selling, the income of local peo- Lei Ruiyong, an expert at the insti- in Guizhou province in 2018 promoting ecological development, But life has been looking up National People’s Congress, is one ple has seen a significant increase, tute, said the tea was precious, but poverty-relief and rural revitalization since June, when Zhu’s family was of the relocated people in Gui- as part of Guizhou’s efforts to relieve the shape and aroma not so attractive in Guizhou, with an improved scale, allocated an 80-square-meter new zhou. He said the policy brought poverty. due to poor processing. 8,641 quality and business profit, according house in the Xinxing community. wealth and happiness to many A dark tea, produced from To promote sales, Xiao decided to to a recent document from the local “I had worked in Shanghai for families. 1,000-year-old trees in Guizhou, build a processing factory. However, yuan government. 11 years to support the family and The county of Daozhen rebuilt amazed experts from around the few shareholders agreed to invest Better policies will guide capital, went back home after knowing and expanded three schools for world at the 12th International Pre- more and some withdrew their annual income of tea farmers technologies and human resources we were allocated a house,” Zhu relocation sites and arrangements mium Tea Competition held in Den- shares due to poor business perfor- in Guizhou to the tea industry, it said. said, adding they had lived in a have been made so all the 1,800- mark last year. The tea, from Yanhe mance before. Yu Liufen, Party chief of Yanbo vil- dilapidated wooden house and plus school-age children can study Qian Nian Gu Cha, won the title “the “I tried to borrow money from county promoted industrial structure lage in Panzhou city and a member never imagined they could own a in nearby schools. king of tea” at the event. about 10 friends or relatives. Some transformation to help local farmers of the National Committee of the new house in the county. Plans are in the works to build The leaves, found in the mountains said they didn’t have the money and out of poverty, and tea was the key Chinese People’s Political Consulta- With the help of the commu- nine industrial parks for poverty of Guizhou, were rubbed one by one some urged me to give up,” said Xiao. industry. tive Conference, said industrial devel- nity, she found a packaging job in alleviation, mainly planting edible before fermentation and exposed to Finally, a nephew helped Xiao He Zhigang, head of the county, opment laid the basis for poverty a local biotechnology company. mushrooms and vegetables. The sunlight and shade several times. using his demolition compensation said the area of tea production grew alleviation. Her commute to work is less than parks will help more than 1,100 Only this way can the dark tea get its of 100,000 yuan ($14,876). With the from 900 hectares to 15,800 hectares. “Every village is different, suited 20 minutes, via an electric bicycle. relocated households to work in special aroma and taste, according to money, her kingdom of tea gradually It has 78 tea companies, 42 coop- for specific industries. Industry “My basic salary is more than the neighborhood. Two of the Xiao Shimei, founder of the company. took shape. eratives and four provincial-level brings jobs and makes poverty relief 2,000 yuan ($299) and I also have parks have begun construction Xiao is known as the “mother of The company now has 80 hectares enterprises. Production has reached move at a stable pace,” she said. overtime wage,” Zhu said. “I speak and the other seven will start con- ancient tea” among locals. Last year, of tea gardens and more than 20,000 9,800 metric tons with output of 1 In January, Shen Yiqin, governor of Putonghua (the standard Manda- struction in the near future. the company produced 300 kilo- tea trees. She researched the tea mar- billion yuan every year. The industry Guizhou province, said in the govern- rin) well and may be promoted to Daozhen also organized several grams of dark tea. It is expected to ket, invited technical advisers and employs 65,800 people from 156 vil- ment work report that the province packaging team leader.” Her hus- job fairs and offered skill training. reach 4,000 kg annually by 2020. sent employees to learn production lages, helping to increase the annual will cultivate 10 agricultural indus- By the end of 2018, 6,854 people Guizhou is a major production cen- methods in Chongqing and Sichuan. income of tea farmers to 8,500 yuan tries with an area of 66,667 hectares had found a stable job. ter for tea with its high altitude, little The tea won the golden award at per capita. each. It will promote the upgrading Sun Zhigang, Party chief of Gui- sunshine and little pollution, which is the 10th International Tea Appraisal By 2018, tea became a pillar of tea gardens and build national- zhou, said at a work conference good for the growth of the trees. in 2014. The products can be found industry for 43 counties in Guizhou, level tea garden centers. in late February that the current Xiao started her business at the in many cities, including Beijing, employing 498,500 poor people. Wang Qing, head of the China work is changing from relocation age of 40. At the time, her father was Shanghai and Guangzhou. The annual income of tea farmers Tea Marketing Association, said the to settlement. The efforts should ill, so she studied medical books. Her business brought jobs to 1,003 reached 8,641 yuan per capita on tea industry in Guizhou is entering bring real wealth to those people “Many books said drinking tea is families, including 522 poor people. average. a new era. The industry can bring in a stable and sustainable way, good for health; that’s when I began Yanhe Tujia autonomous county, Guizhou has 501,333 hectares of wealth to people and benefit the envi- he said. to grow an interest in it, fell for it and where the company is located, has tea gardens, ranked largest in the ronment. A worker picks edible made it a business,” she said. more than 50,000 ancient tea trees country for six consecutive years. mushrooms at a local factory. Zhao Yandi contributed to this In the first year, the company pro- and 22 tea gardens. In 2007, the Zunyi, Tongren and Qiannan Buoyei Che Weiwei contributed to this story. ZHAO YANDI / CHINA DAILY story.

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