"I used to do my research on growing peaches in the lab, but the
Technology Transfer (TTF) gave me opportunities to transfer the
technology to farmers in the field," said Wang Jixun, 40. "Using my
research findings to help local farmers boost their income means a
lot to me."
Wang spent almost 150 days a year in the village training local
farmers, taking a shuttle bus for a two-hour return trip from
Urumqi, capital city of Xinjiang, to Huangyakeng Village.
Across Xinjiang, more than 1,300 TTF personnel have trained
337,400 farmers from 29 counties, helping them boost their incomes
by 14.3 percent on average since June 2002, according to Jin Nuo,
assistant to the chairman of the Autonomous Regional Government of
Xinjiang.
China has managed to reduce its poverty-stricken population by
more than 100 million in the period 1985 to 2005, but the country
still has 23.65 million people who earn less than 680 yuan (US$85)
a year and live in absolute poverty, according to the State Council
Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.
If the internationally-accepted poverty line of 1 U.S. dollar
per day is used, China still has 120 to 130 million poor
people.
"Poor efficiency in the agricultural sector is one factor,
another is the slow, inadequate transfer and application of modern
science and technology in the rural areas. Also, the opportunities
to increase farmers' incomes are often limited. For China to build
a more affluent society by 2020 and a new socialist countryside is
an enormous challenge," said Liu Yanhua, vice minister of science
and technology.
"I used to do my research on growing peaches in the lab, but the
TTF gave me opportunities to transfer the technology to farmers in
the field," said Wang Jixun, 40. "Using my research findings to
help local farmers boost their income means a lot to me."
Wang spent almost 150 days a year in the village training local
farmers, taking a shuttle bus for a two-hour return trip from
Urumqi, capital city of Xinjiang, to Huangyakeng Village.
Across Xinjiang, more than 1,300 TTF personnel have trained
337,400 farmers from 29 counties, helping them boost their incomes
by 14.3 percent on average since June 2002, according to Jin Nuo,
assistant to the chairman of the Autonomous Regional Government of
Xinjiang.
China has managed to reduce its poverty-stricken population by
more than 100 million in the period 1985 to 2005, but the country
still has 23.65 million people who earn less than 680 yuan (US$85)
a year and live in absolute poverty, according to the State Council
Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.
If the internationally-accepted poverty line of 1 U.S. dollar
per day is used, China still has 120 to 130 million poor
people.
"Poor efficiency in the agricultural sector is one factor,
another is the slow, inadequate transfer and application of modern
science and technology in the rural areas. Also, the opportunities
to increase farmers' incomes are often limited. For China to build
a more affluent society by 2020 and a new socialist countryside is
an enormous challenge," said Liu Yanhua, vice minister of science
and technology.
Liu said the TTF personnel will change the way farmers are
introduced to new technologies, by providing the technical services
they demand and that "are more locally relevant, as opposed to
generic solutions adopted nationwide."
"TTF also focuses on introducing market mechanisms to
traditional agriculture," he said.
Liu pointed out that since 2002, a total of 593 counties in 24
provinces have launched pilot projects on the new market-oriented
TTF mechanisms.
According to Liu, 23,000 TTF personnel were dispatched to
implement the project and 5.84 million farmers received technical
training in 2005 with an average income rise of 20 percent for the
farmers concerned.
The TTF has also gained support from the international
community. China and the United Nations recently increased their
joint investment in a rural poverty alleviation project based on
technology promotion in Urumqi, Xinjiang.
The four-year project that started in April 2006 is sponsored by
the UN Development Program (UNDP), China's Ministry of Science and
Technology (MOST), and the China International Center for Economic
and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) under the Ministry of Commerce.
They will support China's TTF initiatives by introducing farmers to
innovative, environmentally-friendly technologies in order to
increase their income and promote sustainable rural
development.
The budget will increase from US$4 million to US$7.4 million --
US$1.48 million from the UNDP, US$5.4 million from MOST, and
US$520,000 from Stora Enso, a multinational paper products company
based in Europe.
It will make TTF a key component of diverse market-oriented
systems that seek to meet the needs of farmers, farm systems and
rural communities.
Under the project, 30 counties have been selected from 15
provinces and autonomous regions. Fujian and Zhejiang provinces,
and Guangxi Zhuang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur
autonomous regions, have been identified as key pilot provinces to
develop experimental TTF models to be shared at the national
level.
"The project is very timely. It dovetails with Chinese
government's commitment to build a new socialist countryside by
applying scientific development approaches," said Khalid Malik, UN
resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in China. "I
believe the project will not only help farmers develop new business
models to increase their income, but also assist China in
establishing new models of production to sustain its high growth
rate," he added.
An increase in income is definitely a strong driver, but farmers
are also attuned to the environment-friendly message.
"Local farmers used to increase output by spraying pesticide,
which consumed more time and money and failed to meet the market
demand for green vegetables," said Yang Hua, from the School of
Plant Protection of the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural
Sciences.
She taught farmers effective ways to keep pests off their
vegetables without using pesticide during her five years with the
TTF in Fukang.
"Villagers told me that they realized that pesticide-free
vegetables were not only good for the environment and for
consumers, but also for farmers themselves, because they sell well
in the market," she said.
Hard work by TTF staff won the trust of local farmers. Wang
Jixun said every time he left for home, villagers would surround
him, hoping to take the opportunity to get more tips from him. They
also constantly called him for consultation.
"My personal income also increased," said Wang. He was honored
as one of the "Top Ten TTF Staff" of Fukang City, and received a
prize from the local government.
"We farmers support those who bring real benefits to us," said
Liu Linsheng.
Liu has become one of the best farmers at growing peaches in the
village. He also organized a "village peach committee" to share his
experience with fellow villagers.
"I don't think they are competition for me," he said. "The more
farmers who can grow high quality peaches, the more business
opportunities we can grasp." "You know what, Heaven Lake in
Xinjiang is famous for the legend of a goddess who once held a
peach banquet," said Liu. "My dream is that we farmers can hold a
banquet just like that, but even more charming than Heaven
Lake!"
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2006)