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| 1 | Poverty and Hunger |
| 7 | Environment |
| 8 | Global Partnership |
FAST FAST GROWER Ma bamboo is considered one of Yongchun County’s six major industries
Every time it rained, the farmers of Shi Gu Town in Yongchun County, Fujian Province in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), would watch the sandy soil—and their livelihoods—wash down the denuded hillsides. They had difficulty eking a living out of their sloping fields, which had suffered from years of poor cropping practices.
In 1996, the average annual household income in the village was yuan (CNY) 1,800 ($220), with a third of the households earning less than CNY1,000 ($120). However, a fast-growing variety of bamboo (Dendocalumus latiflorus) has changed their lives for the better. Known for its bountiful shoot production, Ma bamboo has nearly stopped the severe soil erosion and more than doubled farmers’ incomes.
Ma bamboo, which grows to about 13 meters, has many uses: its young shoots can be eaten fresh or be canned, its stems are processed into incense sticks and bamboo baskets, and its leaves are used as wrappers. By the third year, 15–20 kilograms (kg) of young shoots and 30 kg of poles may be harvested from every clump.
“Bamboo is more profitable than other crops,” says farmer Gao Wen Xi as he cuts grass for green manure. Within two years of planting the bamboo, he was selling the shoots to a nearby canning facility and the stems (poles) to a local pulp mill.
He has invested some of his earnings from the bamboo into rice, pigs, and an orange orchard, increasing his family’s total income by CNY7,000–8,000 ($845–970) a year. He and his wife have also used the money to build a house and pay for their two children’s education.
About 27 million of Fujian Province’s 34 million people live in rural areas where the terrain ranges from mountainous to hilly to coastal. Arable land is limited, and whatever suitable land is available is intensively cultivated, causing soil degradation and erosion. Since the start of economic reforms in 1978, economic growth in Fujian has been largely concentrated in urban areas, increasing the rural-urban gap.
The Fujian Soil Conservation and Rural Development Project, with a $65 million loan from ADB and a $406,000 grant from the Japan Special Fund, began in 1995 and was completed in 2001. Its main objective was to promote sustainable growth in the rural economy in ways that benefited the poorest people.
The project’s five components were linked by the common objective of promoting soil conservation and rural development. Farmers in degraded areas learned to develop orchards using conservationeffective measures; fishers in coastal areas learned aquaculture techniques.
The soil and water conservation interventions focused on income-earning activities for the farmers, because experience showed that activities linked to farm income would succeed. Farmers were encouraged to select the option best for their situation.
Agro-processing industries and agriculture market development linked agriculture sector production activities with processing and market distribution, promoting a market cycle of primary produce and off-farm employment opportunities. Small hydropower development provided the rural poor with electricity and a substitute for firewood, subsequently protecting the forests as a measure of soil conservation. The project area covers small watersheds across 30 counties along the densely populated eastern coastline.
On average, real per capita household income almost doubled from CNY1,335 ($290) (in 2003 current prices) before the project to CNY2,410 ($845) at completion. Income generated by the project exceeded the expected income by 20% (CNY6,928 [$835] annually per family in 1995 constant prices). Of the 64,000 or so participating rural households, 35% were below the poverty line in 1995; at completion, most had been lifted out of poverty.
Local government support was important in obtaining loans for private investors from local banks. A risk-sharing mechanism among the village farmers engaged in orchard development with good performing agro-business enterprises was one of the key factors for strong partnership and success. Providing innovative small shareholding opportunities and technical and management support from private business partners were also instrumental in helping achieve the highly successful outcome of the project. Risk sharing through direct participation, partnership, and government cooperation with the private sector in initiating rural investments—and the eventual phaseout of government interests in private enterprise after the enterprise had fully developed —provided a strong foundation for mutual trust and confidence among private and public investors.
All the public enterprises involved underwent ownership restructuring, with government ownership gradually decreasing below 49%. The Vice Chairman of the Fujian Provincial People’s Congress, Mr. Cao Degang, says that although it is the Government’s job to provide an enabling environment for the people, the people themselves had worked hard to achieve results.
Economic reforms encouraged the establishment of the Rural Economic Cooperative, which allowed towns and villages to engage in productive economic activities (collective farming, agro-processing, and rural industries) as a unit to collect and generate revenue.
With the project creating the funding necessary for change and developing an enabling environment, the poor rural dwellers of Fujian Province have been able to turn their lives around, and make the most of their harsh environment.
According to PRC official estimates, between 1998 and 2001 the soil conservation and agriculture development component of orchards, tea gardens, and bamboo plantations produced 40,000 tons of fruit, 8,000 tons of tea, and 50,000 tons of bamboo shoots totaling CNY1,120 million ($135 million).
"Our
goal is to serve the people and alleviate
poverty among our farmers"
Lin Kai Wang, Project Director and Senior Agronomist
About 5,800 ha of new orchards were developed and 11,573 ha of existing orchards rehabilitated (see story, p. 16). In the aquaculture component, about 90,000 tons of aquatic products were produced worth CNY1,200 million ($145 million) (see story, p. 17). Seven agro-processing facilities generated more than CNY80 million ($9.6 million) in sales revenues and provided about 700 permanent and 30,000 seasonal jobs. More than 19,000 training courses on contour terracing, fruit variety selection, soil conservation, and orchard management were conducted.
According to Fujian Vice-Governor Qiu Guang Zhong and provincial officials, the Fujian project was successful because it had strong commitment from the Government to make it work and ensure the agriculture, finance, and planning agencies worked together at all levels. The project was driven by the Agriculture Bureau, which had the staff and technical expertise to deliver new technologies and follow up with farmers.
“Our goal is to serve the people and alleviate poverty among our farmers,” says Lin Kai Wang, Project Director and Senior Agronomist. Building on skills that were already available, the officials looked closely at the markets and capacity to repay the loan. They also made sure that the investments were appropriately sized.
The success of the project was distinguished in yet another way: it was the first ADB agriculture project to receive a highly successful rating in the project completion report.
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