Zuoquan: The On-target Poverty Alleviation Model

Families registered as impoverished constitute the main body of the tree planting program.[Photo by Zheng Liang]

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), forestry will contribute 20 percent or more to the poverty reduction program, with the aim of lifting as many as 12,000 people out of poverty. So far the county has set up 45 afforestation cooperatives manned by 626 impoverished families. The tree planting program has increased the forest coverage rate from 35 percent to 39 percent, according to Guan Xiaodong, chief engineer of the Forestry Bureau of Zuoquan County.

“I will plant trees with other cooperative members in spring, and tend the saplings in the rest of time,” said Yang Wenxiu from Matian Town. “I can earn more than 5,000 yuan a year from this program.” Yang formerly tried to wrest a living from his 0.2-hectare field, but tuition fees for his three children plunged the family into a mire of poverty. Now a forestry ranger, Yang earns a stable income and has no worries about feeding his family. He has a sense of pride each time he puts on his uniform.

Since 2016, first year of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Zuoquan has achieved satisfying results in its poverty alleviation drive, as well as in other fields. As many as 23 villages and 8,147 people registered as impoverished have this year risen above this designation. Third-party evaluation data show that 92 percent of those surveyed are satisfied with the poverty alleviation work. Moreover, walnut cultivation, breeding, cultivation of TCM herbs, photovoltaic industry, and rural tourism have flourished. Both the ecological environment and infrastructure in rural areas have improved, and farmers are more optimistic and positive about the future.

To eradicate poverty at its roots calls first and foremost for a change of mindset. Poverty relief is not charity, but a process of reactivating human initiative. With this in mind, Zuoquan has given full play to the role of the “first secretary”of the village-level CPC committee.

Lianbi Village of Longquan Town was long trapped in poverty due to its secluded location. But it abandoned the out-dated mentality of relying on relief funds and government assistance. The village CPC committee started the drive by building confidence – talking with those caught in the poverty trap, and empowering them by showing there was a way out of it. In 2016, Lianbi Village successfully achieved all indexes required to throw off poverty.

“We knew nothing about government policies or national events. But now it’s different,” said Zhang Shilin who lives in Guair Town. “Since the ‘first secretary’ came to my village, he has updated us on what goes on beyond our county. Now I generally watch the news, and keep informed on preferential policies.”