A view of a modern agricultural plantation in Xiahuanghao, Lianggezhuang township, Yixian county, Hebei province, on April 27, 2016. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The Thirteenth Five-year Plan has set the goal to relieve people from poverty in rural areas across the country by 2020.
"I see a promising future and I am motivated to work in the plantation," said 71-year-old Chen Dianying, a native farmer and a member of a poverty-stricken household, in Taidi village, Niugang town, Yixian county.
Similar to Tiangang village, Taidi village built its own plantation but has chosen to grow apples due to its unique natural conditions.
He has been employed to do farming work on the plantation for three years, after transferring the usage rights of his land to a villager-run rural cooperative to build the plantation and became a shareholder. This model has become a widely-adopted development model among Hebei's poverty-stricken villages.
"I can earn money and also look after my sick wife," said Chen.
He now earns thousands of yuan more from the work and dividends on the land shares every year, besides allowances offered by the government, enough to support his family.
Villages and their residents are not alone in benefiting from the plantation.
Some companies have taken over the role of villager-run rural cooperatives in some villages. Villagers transferred their land to a company and got shares in exchange, while the company is in charge of managing the plantation and giving out dividends.
"The merits of the plantation dwarf its shortcomings," said Wang Hongwei, manager of Hebei Lvzenong plantation company, "though the company invests a large amount of money and the production cycle is long, it can get government subsidies and sustained returns."
The company manages a modern agricultural plantation which plans to cover 13,000 mu of area involving five villages in Lianggezhuang township, Yixian county. It has already planted 500 mu of cherry trees and 2,500 mu of apple trees with an estimated prime revenue of more than 3 million yuan.
Wang said that the company plans to initiate deep-processing factories in the plantation and chicken and pig farms are also in operation to build a circular economy. The plantation is expected to be upgraded into a tourist destination in several years.
"The rural market is now surging", said Wang, "the company hopes to earn money from the market. But the most important point is that villagers will never face poverty again."
Chen Dianying works at an apple plantation in Taidi village, Niugang town, Yixian county, Hebei province, on April 27, 2016. (Photo by Wu Yan/chinadaily.com.cn)
