Li Xiaoyun (right) imparts planting techniques in Tanzania in July 2015. Photo: Kong Deji
For the past two decades, Li Xiaoyun, a professor at the China Agricultural University (CAU), has devoted himself to eliminating poverty in China's rural areas. As he turns 55 years old, he shows no sign of stopping and has even expanded his reach to Africa.
A doctorate in crop ecology in CAU, Li began to tour the country's poor areas, taking part in efforts to reduce poverty in the mid-1990s. "I'm doing development studies. Poverty relief is a major part of it. Only by going into villages and getting involved can we find solutions," Li told the Global Times in a recent interview.
In 1994, Li and his colleagues, for the first time, drew up a participatory poverty reduction model, which was later adopted by the central government and promoted across the country.
In recent years, he has become more personally involved in this cause. He established a poverty alleviation center in Southwest China's Yunnan Province.
He also took his students to Tanzania to teach the local farmers planting techniques. In the past three years, the corn output in demonstration fields there has increased five folds.
His dedication to poverty relief and charity spirit have earned him lots of awards and titles, as well as many chances to speak at international meetings.
Li believes that mutual aid is fundamental to maintaining basic social order. He likes to quote a verse from the renowned Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet and government official Bai Juyi: "If everybody is warm like me, nobody in the world is cold," saying this is also his wish.
First attempts
In 1994, he applied for a 250,000 yuan ($36,000) grant from a German foundation to set up his first anti-poverty project in a town in Yanqing county, Beijing.
Afraid that the funds would be embezzled, he withdrew the cash from the bank and took it to the town himself. At a meeting attended by the county head, town head and villagers, he handed the money to the farmers. Under his guidance, the farmers used the money to build a foundation.
Following international practice, Li asked that the funds be prioritized for the poorest families in order to buy breeding sheep. When the sheep gave birth, the lambs were to be given to other poor families.
However, a series of setbacks have led to the failure of his first project. "During that period, I was beset by problems such as who would be the first candidates to receive the funds, who would receive the lambs and what to do when the sheep die," Li recalled. Some farmers even went to Li's home to make complaints and give tip-offs.
"The sudden arrival of the funds broke the peace in the villages. It also changed their government structure and I, an outsider, became one of the power brokers," he noted.
The lessons learned from this first attempt meant that his project in Yanchi county in Ningxia had somewhat better results. Instead of becoming personally involved, he allowed some literate locals to monitor the funds after giving them specific training.
