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AwakeningVillagers’ Plant Management Awareness

Source:互满爱人与人中国Date:2019-05-27 09:28:10Click:867

Author: Yu Zaolan, Humana People to People Government Relations Officer


Some years ago more than 2,600 loquat saplings had been planted on a massive scale, and villagers had a sloppy old fashioned mindset with the thought of “God has his plan” and walked away, waiting to reap fruits without any effort. They let the Loquat trees grow as they will. The trees grow so high with densely distributed branches, and the few fruits hung high in the treetops. It is impossible to pick and eat them, we can only wait for the “Squatting loquats” hung up high to fall down.

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When project manager Li Xiaojun visited the sites, the only thing he could do to help the villagers was to prune the branches on his own, train them one by one on how to manage saplings, and show them how to make dwarf loquat trees and multiply branches. This time consuming work is, however, not a real long-term plan.

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Li was very anxious witnessing that villagers are unconscious and unaware of being able to manage the loquat trees. As the old saying goes, “You can take the horse to the riverside, but you can’t force it to drink.”An idea finally struck him after contemplation: awakening the villagers’ management awareness with fruitful results and rich economic benefits--leading the villagers to visit top loquat planters in Tongxianzhai, Sanhe Street, Fengdu County.

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27 villagers then subscribed to participate in this technical training on loquat tree management. However, 8 more were showed up when the coordinator counted the number of participants, and the project manager had to arrange a larger vehicle.


Before8 am the next morning, villagers gathered together at SanYuanTown from their village. They were passionate and excited!

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Villagers responded strongly when they saw the yellow and egg-sized loquats all over the hills: they have far better lands, but their trees can not bear much fruit, only small, thin and sour ones! The villagers’ own loquats are either not sold, or sold at a not so decent price: normally 12 Yuan/kg, yet at this plantation, freshly picked loquats are sold at 32 Yuan/kg.

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The villagers walked, watched, and had heated discussions. They asked the plantation manager different questions from time to time, and envisioned that someday they would be able to manage their own loquats trees well.


A grower in the training burst out and told me: “I have not planted in such an orderly way. My trees were planted at intervals of 5 meters, it is in a mess!" Admiration and appreciation filled his eyes.


With such enthusiasm, I truly hope that villagers’ awareness of “self-development”can be awakened, and the loquat trees they later plant will soon reap the harvest!


Project Introduction:

Farmers Green Action Group project in Fengdu, Chongqing was funded by the Development Aid Section of the New Zealand Embassy and was jointly implemented by Chongqing Representative Office of Humana People to People (Switzerland) and Poverty Relief Office of Fengdu County. The project covers 250 rural households in Luojiachang Village, Sanyuan Town, Fengdu County, Chongqing Municipality (52 of which have participated in loquat planting activities). Through identifying industrial poverty alleviation methods suitable for the local environment in Luojiachang Village with local farmers, investing more in technology, improving production capacity, and linking to the market, this project aims to reduce poverty incidence and increase farmers’sustainable income. Alongside that, by promoting sustainable agricultural production methods,and improving water resource management, the environment will be protected. Besides, the health environmentand health and nutritional situation in rural communities, as well as local living conditions and infrastructure construction will be improved. Meanwhile, by setting up green action groups, an information sharing platform among farmers can be built and capacity building activities can be arranged.

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The project is funded by New Zealand Embassy in China.

The article only represents the author’s opinion, not necessarily the views of the donors.


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