Experts help farmers in Guizhou get more out of land

Luhua township in Bijie, Guizhou province, provides a good example on how to kill two birds with one stone - poverty alleviation and stopping desertification.

The township government organized agricultural technicians to help the farmers plant economically viable crops, such as plums, pumpkins, peppers, oilseed rape and soybeans, that are suitable for local soil and water conditions in the comparatively infertile mountain farmland. The new crops are replacing corn, which farmers have cultivated extensively for generations.

New reservoirs have been built in the mountains to collect water for use in irrigation during dry seasons, and government-funded soil enhancement and afforestation help improve the regional ecology and environment.