Grain-for-Ecology Project Welcomed by Farmers

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, February 21, 2002

Grain-for-Ecology Project Welcomed by Farmers

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For thousands of years, Chinese farmers have been bound to the land for a living.However, when the government asked them to stop growing crops and turn their farmland into forest and grassland to save the deteriorating environment, they accepted with great pleasure.

Aoxi, a farmer from north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, regarded the grain-for-ecology swap as unexpected good fortune.

In the past two years, Aoxi reverted 1.6 hectares of his farm to forest and grassland.

In 2000, the Chinese government launched a project to return sloping and low-yield farmland to forest and grassland in more than 200 counties of 17 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the central and western parts of China.

Initial statistics show that over the past two years, the Chinese government has spent 7.45 billion yuan (897 million U.S. dollars) on the project. More than 1.2 million hectares of farmland has been returned to forest and grassland, and over one million hectares of barren land and hills were planted with trees.

This year, China plans to revert more than 2.2 million hectaresof low-yield farmland to forest and grassland, and will plant trees on over 2.6 million hectares of barren hills and land, according to the State Development Planning Commission.

The project has progressed smoothly because it is warmly welcomed by farmers, said Gao Xilin, director of the regional forestry bureau of Inner Mongolia.

The afforestation project has been carried out mainly in areas along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River which suffer from serious soil erosion.

The Chinese government plans to use grain surpluses as an allowance for farmers who return farmland with a 25-degree gradient to forested areas and grassland. Depending on the type ofland given for the project, farmers receive 2,250 kilograms or 1,500 kilograms of grain per hectare each year.

The government not only gives farmers seeds and saplings free of charge, but also living expenses of 300 yuan per hectare annually.

Aoxi said even in normal years, one hectare of his infertile farmland produces less than 750 kilograms of grain, yet the state will give 1,500 kilograms for one hectare.

During winter, Aoxi often takes care of the young trees to prevent them dying from the cold. He said, "If you can't do a goodjob, then you won't get the benefits."

He said that the grain and money given by the government equalshis total income from farming over two years.

During the dry summer last year, all farmers who returned theirinfertile farmland to forest and grassland chose to water young trees rather than their crops, said Han Yufei, head of the Aobaoliang Township where Aoxi lives.

Director Gao Xilin described the grain-for-ecology project as awin-win deal, which makes barren hills green while bringing benefits to farmers.

Sources with the State Forestry Administration said that Chinese government plans to spend 300 billion yuan (36 billion U.S.dollars) in ecological construction over the next 10 years, one-third of that will be used to return farmland to forest and grassland.

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