Jiangxi's poverty reduction industries come back online amidst COVID-19 epidemic

Recently, farmers living in Gaowang village, Zhaoxie town, Le’an county, Jiangxi province have been busy fertilizing, watering, and weeding the bamboo shoots that they grow in greenhouses and engaging in pest prevention efforts.

An impoverished grower named Qiu Xiaohua stated: “Bamboo shoots really help our village. I grew about 0.33 ha of the crop last year and earned more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,854) of net income.”

Gaowang’s bamboo shoot cooperative encouraged 14 local poverty-stricken families to become members and participate in the industry. They agreed and the undertaking has resulted in an average of more than 105,000 yuan (US$14,982) of profit per ha.

Villages are some of the main focal points of poverty alleviation efforts in China. From the end of 2015 to 2019, Gaowang and 3,057 others in Jiangxi escaped from poverty and the province’s impoverished population decreased from 2 million people to 96,000.

It is important to continue poverty alleviation plans through to their conclusions and to modify them as necessary in accordance with actual conditions so that the problem will be fully eradicated in China by the end of 2020. The Jiangxi government recently issued the “Opinions on Winning the Battle against Poverty amid the COVID-19 Epidemic” in order to provide further guidance and help ensure a decisive victory. It describes challenges that poverty alleviation industries currently face, mentions ways that impoverished people can maintain stable employment, and covers eight other aspects of the current situation.

Many impoverished residents of Jiangxi’s Huangtian village have recently lost their incomes as a result of the sudden COVID-19 epidemic. The poverty alleviation team leader of the locale, which is administered by Hefeng town, Yudu county, is a dedicated man named Wen Dingqiang who has been going to people’s homes in order to get information about their skills and employment goals so that he can help them make new plans.

A villager named Liu Hongquan had a signed employment contract in hand and mentioned: “I can earn a living near my home and take care of my wife and children thanks to Wen.”

Wen has been spending his time matching labor supply with employment demand. He has made announcements, contacted factories, and chartered buses for Huangtian’s migrant laborers. Members of 10 impoverished households have signed new employment contracts so far.

Wen explained: “We shouldn’t allow the COVID-19 outbreak to let villagers fall back into poverty. It is best to modify our plans as necessary and make them feel confident about long-term poverty reduction.”

Poverty alleviation officials have also been helping impoverished villagers sell the products in addition to helping them find jobs. Some have used electric vehicles to take products that people have ordered online through COVID-19 checkpoints so they can solve the “last kilometer” of logistics issues and ensure that the items make it to people’s homes. Nearly 250 tons of rice, more than 100 tons of oranges, and almost 100,000 chicken and duck eggs have been sold in Jiangxi’s Jing’an county so far as a result of officials who have provided assistance with online sales.

Officials have demonstrated commitment to the public in the battles against poverty and the COVID-19 epidemic, and the government has cooperated with enterprises as well. The governments in Jiangxi have introduced policies that have helped resolve complications that have arisen as a result of the outbreak and have affected poverty alleviation industries. Strict prevention and control measures have been implemented so that companies can resume their operations and their employees can come back to work in a safe and productive manner.

The government of Shangrao city has kept track of businesses that promote poverty alleviation and have been affected by the epidemic and has provided tax aid, discounts on loan interest, raw materials, and help with logistics. Six hundred and ninety-one of the companies that were established for poverty reduction purposes in the municipality have resumed operations thus far, or 67.3 percent of them.

The government of Dayu county, Ganzhou city has taken measures to help factories that were established for poverty reduction purposes in its borders and have met COVID-19 prevention and control standards resume operations, such as providing materials and supplies, subsidizing costs associated with epidemic deterrent efforts, supplying utility allowances, and contributing payroll assistance if necessary, so that their employees can return to work and continue to increase their incomes. 

Nearly 35,000 of the 48,000 leading enterprises engaged in poverty eradication efforts in Jiangxi, such as farmers’ cooperatives, family farms, and other businesses, have resumed production as of Feb. 27, or about 73 percent of them.   

The temperature is increasing and people are becoming more confident about their ability to overcome difficulties and escape from poverty as spring emerges in Jiangxi.