Poverty Alleviation and Development in Shandong Province

　　【Overview】  Shandong Province 17 cities (prefectures), 140 counties (cities, districts) and 1931 townships (towns, offices). As of the end of 2008, the number of the rural residents with per capita net income below 2,000 Yuan, provincial poverty line of 1,500 Yuan and national poverty line of 1,196 Yuan was respectively 6.769 million, 5.53 million and 2.54 million, accounting for  9.6%, 7.5% and 3.6% of the total rural people. In 2009, 88% of the rural areas had access to tap water and 98% of the administrative villages had access to asphalt roads, and the incidence of poverty was respectively 62% and 83%. 6,320 poor villages still had no clinics, accounting for 7% of the total administrative villages in the province.

　　Since 2001, the rural per capita net income of the 232 poor townships (towns) and 4291 impoverished villages successively supported by Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government rose from 2,031 Yuan and 1,408 Yuan in 2001 to 4,730 Yuan and 3,968 Yuan in 2009 respectively, with average growth rate of 12.8% and 16.1%, above the provincial average. The number of the rural poor living below the national poverty line of 1,196 Yuan was reduced to 2.54 million, accounting for 3.6% of the total rural population. In 2009, the province strengthened the agricultural infrastructure construction in poverty-stricken regions and the rural poor living in absolute poverty got stable-yield farmland or fruit trees or vegetables of 1.05 mu per capita, laying a good foundation for agricultural production.

　　【Investment to poverty alleviation fund projects】 In 2009, the central government allocated financial anti-poverty funds of 44.91 million Yuan for Shandong Province and the provincial issued poverty alleviation funds of 60 million Yuan. The financial anti-poverty funds provided by provincial and central government amounted to 104.91 million Yuan. Based on the use of the fund, it includes: 59.2 million Yuan for entire village advancement, 21.20 million Yuan of pilot mutual funds, 5 million Yuan of anti-poverty loan interest subsidies, 5 million Yuan for rural poor labor transfer trainings, 9.5 million Yuan for poverty relief of minority, 1.01 million Yuan for poverty reduction of the disabled and 4 million Yuan for needy staffs of forestry centers. Among the entire village advancement projects, 119 aimed to increase farmers’ income and improve people’s livelihoods, of which 83 were farming and breeding projects and 36 were other projects, respectively accounting for 70% and 30% of the total.

　　【Entire Village Advancement】  From 2008 to 2010, a total of 119 entire village advancement projects were constructed in 83 key townships (towns) of 34 key counties (districts), which effectively improved the production and living conditions of rural poor. The rural poor labor transfer trainings, industrialization poverty relief, pilot mutual funds and other measures were adopted to increase the income of farmers. As a result, the increase in per capita income of the rural poor reached 500 Yuan.

　　As of the end of 2009, 16 provincial poverty alleviation and development demonstration zones had been established in 34 key counties (districts) for poverty alleviation and development, there had been a total of 18 standardized 3000-hectare vegetable and fruit production bases and four standardized poultry production bases with annual production capacity of 10 million. The rural per capita net income of the key towns reached 5,000 Yuan, accounting for 82% of the provincial average.

　　【Poverty alleviation training】  1．Labor transfer training: In 2009, the “Rain Plan” demonstration bases in the province held trainings for 10,000 rural poor labors. Four measures were adopted in rural poor labor transfer trainings: First, target at rural poor. File the data of the trainees and conduct follow-up management. Secondly, select the specialties with stable market demand. According to the market demand, it focused on labor transfer and employment trainings on fitters, welders, machine repairing, sewing, electronics, etc. Thirdly, implement "order" trainings. Before determining the trainees’ name list, the training bases must sign recruitment training contracts with the large and medium-sized enterprises in and outside the province. After the trainings, the trainees will be transferred to the enterprises. Fourthly, strengthen financial management. In accordance with the subsidy standard of 350 Yuan per person after the successful labor transfer, the training bases can go to the county or city financial bureau for reimbursement of the anti-poverty funds.

2. Technology training. In 2009, 42 agricultural technical training courses were held in the province, agricultural technicians and experts were invited to give lectures and teach the trainees production technologies for fruit growing, vegetable growing and livestock breeding to increase farmers’ income, and a total of 16,000 poor people received the trainings.

　　【Cadre training】  In 2009, the province strengthened cadre management trainings and organized 86 people to participate in 11 seminars. In mid-March 2009, the Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office held in Shen County the third mayor training for the key towns of the province. In late June, it held in Yishui County the provincial poverty alleviation and development training for mountain areas, and in early August, it held in Laicheng the provincial poverty alleviation and development trainings for the reservoir area. In 2009, a total of 106 cadre trainings were organized for the poor villages and 1,220 people attended the events.

　　【Poverty alleviation by industrialization】 In 2009, the agricultural production bases featured “one product for one county” were established in most of the key counties (districts) for poverty alleviation in Shandong to foster poverty alleviation leading enterprises and agricultural product sale or wholesale markets so as to achieve the integration of agricultural production and processing and improve agricultural commodity rate.

　　In 2009, there were a total of 47 poverty alleviation leading enterprises in the province, including 13 national enterprises and 34 provincial businesses. 5 million Yuan of anti-poverty interest subsidies was provided by the state for ten cities, namely Linyi, Heze, Binzhou, Jining, Liaocheng, Dezhou, Zibo, Tai'an, Laiwu and Weifang. As a result, 130 million Yuan of loans was issued, of which 2.5 million Yuan was enterprise project loan discount, covering 23 poverty alleviation leading enterprises with annual discount rate of 3%, resulting in 80 million Yuan of planned loans; and 2.5 million Yuan was loan discount for rural households, covering 25,000 rural families, with annual discount rate of 5%, resulting in 50 million Yuan of planned loans.

　　As of the end of 2009, there was an increase of 650 million Yuan in the output value, 430 million Yuan in the profits and $ 30 million in the export earning of the 23 supported companies. As a result, agricultural production bases of 320,000 mu were established and the income growth per household of 25,000 rural families reached 800 Yuan.

　　【Pilot mutual funds in poverty-stricken villages】  There was a total of 20 pilot counties for mutual funds and 251 provincial mutual fund cooperative organizations in the province, of which 118 had been operating smoothly for one year with 25,000 rural household members. Since the launch of the pilot mutual funds, 68 million Yuan of loans was issued, which benefited 11,000 rural families and the income growth per household reached 1,685 Yuan.

　　【Poverty alleviation measures】  1. Pro-poor policy: The CPC and the state issued a series of agriculture-benefiting policies to create a relaxed environment for the economic and social development in impoverished areas. The constant issuance and gradual increase of preferential agricultural policies have directly reduced farmers' production expenses, steadily increase farmers' income, and created a favorable environment for agricultural development.

　　2．Development-oriented poverty reduction: 2009 survey data show: There was an average increase of 500 Yuan in the income of poor farmers in rural areas of Shandong Province this year, of which the income growth due to the preferential agricultural policies, poverty alleviation and development, and self-development respectively reached 100 Yuan, 360 Yuan and 40 Yuan, accounting for 20%, 72% and 8% of the total income growth.

　　3．Poverty alleviation by industrialization: In 2009, Shandong increased efforts on poverty alleviation by industrialization and conducted infrastructure construction for industrial development, creating stable channels for income growth of poor farmers. It supported agro-processing enterprises and expanded agricultural production bases to boost the income growth of farmers. Meanwhile, the province established agricultural products wholesale markets with certain scale to address the marketing difficulties and instable prices that restrain the income growth of farmers.

　　4．"Self-reliance and hard work" is the intrinsic motivation of poverty alleviation. Based on self-reliance, supplemented by state support, we carried forward the spirit of “working hard rather than bearing hardship”, developed the human resources in poor areas and “bundled” agricultural development and poverty relief funds to accelerate the process of poverty alleviation and development.