Grain-for-green project 'fruitful'

XI'AN: One of the country's worst affected counties by soil erosion, Wuqi in Shaanxi is now well on its way to turning into a green belt, thanks to a grain-for-green project that kicked off a decade ago.

As part of the project, which was started in 1998, Wuqi authorities asked local farmers to keep better varieties of goats in sheepfolds and stop them from grazing on hills, besides planting trees and grass in return for grains.

The county was the first in the country to start such a project, which proved successful.