Govt's help shows its worth

The local authorities in Jiangxi province have made marked progress in lifting people out of poverty

The central government has made poverty reduction a priority for the country, and Jiangxi province has made marked progress in this regard, with approximately 3.25 million people lifted out of poverty over the past five years.

The local government has used various means to alleviate poverty, such as developing specific industries, creating jobs, improving infrastructure and renovating villages and houses, relocating poor families, and expanding the education and healthcare services it provides.

People in economic difficulties, mostly living in rural areas, have also been encouraged to join in local agricultural cooperatives or other businesses to increase their incomes.

They have been supported in their efforts to tap into local resources and develop businesses, such as crop plantations, poultry raising, the processing of agricultural products and rural tourism.

All these efforts have paid off.

Data show that Jiangxi's impoverished population fell to 1.13 million at the end of 2016 from 4.38 million in 2011. The proportion of poor people in the total population in the province fell to 3.3 percent from 12.6 percent over the same period.

Rays of hope

Photovoltaic projects have been a highlight of the province's poverty reduction campaign.

Local governments in the province funded the installation of solar panels on the roofs of the dwellings of poor rural families. This has not only provided the villagers with power for their daily lives, but also helped them to increase their incomes directly, as the extra electricity can be sold to the national power grid.

To date, a photovoltaic network able to generate 940,000 kilowatts per hour has been established in the province, benefiting 160,000 families in nearly 1,900 poor villagers, with per capita income increasing by more than 3,000 yuan ($450) a year.

Rural tourism

Rural tourism is another source of income for villagers.

Jiangxi is home to 110 rural tourism sites ranked 4A or above, as well as 125 well-preserved ancient villages and 116 villages and towns known for their historical and cultural heritages.

Villages across Jiangxi received 263 million visits in 2016, representing a 38.53 percent increase from a year earlier and accounting for 56 percent of the total number of visits to the province last year.

Rural tourism generated more than 232.65 billion yuan in annual revenue in 2016, up about 29 percent, accounting for nearly 47 percent of the province's total tourism revenue.

The flourishing tourism in rural areas created jobs for 636,000 villagers and helped 150,000 farmers to escape from poverty last year.

E-commerce

As e-commerce is sweeping across the country and sparking entrepreneurship dreams, online businesses provide another approach to modernizing agriculture and reducing poverty especially in rural areas.

In Jiangxi, nearly 6,800 rural e-commerce centers designed for poverty relief had been set up by late August. They generated roughly 3.6 billion yuan in sales, 558 million yuan of this contributed by poor families.

The centers work to help nearby farmers, especially from poor families, to promote their produce online.

Local officials cooperated with China Post to launch a special postal service, facilitating delivery of agro-products to urban residents.

Renovation, relocation

For impoverished people tucked away deep in the mountains, reservoir zones or areas that are frequently hit by natural disasters, the tough environment has been a major contributor to their poverty.

Local officials have persuaded the inhabitants in these areas to move elsewhere and integrated their relocation into urban expansion plans.

The provincial government plans to relocate 137,000 poor residents during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

The quality of the new apartment buildings is monitored closely and the necessary infrastructure and services are provided to make sure the new occupants have a good living environment.

For those poor villagers in the province that do not need to be relocated, the provincial government has formulated a series of indicators for the quality of their living environment, including transportation, drinking water, housing, power, healthcare, infrastructure and public services.

Rural areas are urged to meet the standards. Of 2,900 poor villages across the province, more than 1,600 are expected to meet the environmental standards by the end of this year.

Education, healthcare

The provincial government provided subsidies of about 8.7 billion yuan for the education of more than 7.5 million poor students last year, ranging from pre-school children to graduate school students.

Each child of a poor family registered with local governments is granted 1,500 yuan in pre-school educational funds annually.

Since the fall, 2016, poor and disabled high school students have been exempt from school fees in the province.

To provide easier access to education, the provincial government has added, rebuilt and renovated 13,000 rural schools, including more than 1,090 junior boarding schools.

The province has also developed a comprehensive medical insurance system to help poor people to pay for their medical treatment. The insurance comprises basic insurance, major diseases, and medical aid.

(China Daily 11/06/2017 page12)