The Plan for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction in Rural Areas of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (2010-2015) is a guiding document of the regional poverty alleviation and development work. It has been formulated to further accelerate the development of poor areas, and promote common prosperity. The Outline is a cross-sectoral document. The Plan proposes the measures for ecological construction, including: continue the key ecological restoration projects in the fields of returning farmland to forest, returning grazing land to grassland, soil and water conservation, natural forest protection, protection forest system construction, and desertification control; establish ecological compensation mechanism with focus on poverty-stricken areas and strengthening ecological compensation in key ecological function areas; strengthen biodiversity conservation, grassland protection and construction, renewable energy development and application in poor rural areas, etc. The Plan recognizes that poverty alleviation is still long term historic task. A guiding principle was developed: the government will adhere to the development-oriented poverty alleviation, implement the effective convergence of poverty alleviation and development and the rural minimum living security system, and gradually improve the social security system. A target group was identified, which falls into four levels, namely, the poverty reduction recipients, the contiguous destitute areas, key counties and poverty-stricken villages. The poverty reduction recipients are rural poor below the poverty line, but have the ability to work. It proposes to raise the standard of poverty alleviation, increase investment, take contiguous poor areas as the main battlefield and focus on providing adequate food and clothing for the poor and lifting them out of poverty as soon as possible. As for policy guarantee, the Outline requires relevant parties to improve strategies and policy systems that are conducive to poor areas and their needy residents. Meanwhile, it conducts policy design in eight aspects, namely fiscal support, favorable investment policies, financial service, industrial support, land use, ecological preservation, guarantee of talents and key groups such as minorities, women and disables. The Plan proposes to establish and improve new technology service system in line with the actual situation of poor areas, accelerate the construction of scientific and technological poverty alleviation demonstration villages and households and promote good practices and good crop seed varieties. In addition, the Plan requires promoting rural employment by supporting and providing training to the youth, disables and new labours in poor rural families. The Plan has further included farmer cooperatives as an institutional innovation to boost incomes and the self-development capacity of poorer farmers and farming communities. This will require the introduction of new measures and funding mechanisms. This Plan recommends that these measures include: (i) broad social sector involvement in strengthening cooperative management and governance; (ii) provision of improved market information and marketing skills, including through vocational education and training; and (iii) establishment of a government rural poverty reduction fund to provide subsidized poverty loans to selected and monitored poor area farmer cooperatives. As for organization guarantee, the Plan requires to further improving evaluation incentive mechanisms for officials as well as departments and key counties, and organizational departments at all levels should actively coordinate work in this regard.
China · 2011-05-27