People's Daily speaks out: Relocation must not displace farmers' interests
Effectively safeguard the interests of relocated households, so that they can move in, settle down steadily, have development prospects and something to look forward to. After crossing mountains and ridges, one finally arrives at Longjing Village, Xiaozhai Township, Liyuan Village, Ludian County, Yunnan Province, in the contiguous destitute area of the Wumeng Mountains. This village sits in a mountain hollow on a mid-slope
Effectively safeguard the interests of relocated households, so that they can move in, settle down steadily, have development prospects and something to look forward to.
After crossing mountains and ridges, one finally arrives at Longjing Village, Xiaozhai Township, Liyuan Village, Ludian County, Yunnan Province, in the contiguous destitute area of the Wumeng Mountains. This village sits in a mountain hollow on a mid-slope, with steep mountain paths that require climbing with hands and feet just to reach a villager's doorstep. Drinking water is very difficult to obtain; one must go more than 1 km away to carry water back. Of the village's 1689 households and 6635 people, more than 200 households still have a per capita income below 2300 yuan. The mountain villages face widespread and deep poverty, mostly because they are located on the mountainside. To escape poverty, local governments and farming households first think of striving to raise crop yields per unit area and, based on resource endowments, launching some planting, breeding and processing projects. But after many years, they found the poverty-alleviation results were not ideal: in a situation where “one place's water and soil cannot support its own people,” relocation-based poverty alleviation for poor villages like Longjing Village has become a realistic choice.
Relocation-based poverty alleviation is an important path for targeted poverty alleviation and targeted poverty elimination. Where to relocate to? How should production and daily life be arranged after relocation? How should the cultivated land be handled after relocation? How can people integrate into the new village after moving there? A series of questions follow, and only by properly resolving them without harming the interests of poor households can this path work.
Whichever arrangement is adopted, the interests of poor households must be effectively safeguarded, their interests maximized, so that they can move in, settle down steadily, have development prospects and something to look forward to.
Where to relocate to is a process of adjusting the interests of all parties. No matter where they move, the first requirement is to ensure that the living environment and living standards of the relocated poor households are higher than before. Medical care nearby, schooling nearby, buying small daily goods nearby; convenient access to water, electricity and roads. The receiving area must transfer benefits to the poor households, and the government must compensate the receiving area through transfer payments; only such interest adjustments can satisfy both the relocated households and the receiving area.
Relocated households leave behind two visible assets in their original place of residence: first, the old house, and second, the cultivated land. Some places are exploring the development of rural tourism in the original place of residence, with the old houses purchased from poor households by developers at a reasonable price. If rural tourism cannot be developed, then villagers within the same village may buy and sell among themselves according to their own needs to adjust. These methods are all based on protecting the interests of relocated households.
Cultivated land arrangements need to be comprehensive. In principle, centralized resettlement sites must not be too far from the original place of residence, so that relocated households can still come back to tend their contracted land, mountain forests and water surfaces. In some places, combined with explorations of comprehensive rural reform, the cultivated land of relocated households is transferred in a centralized way to large households, joint households, specialized cooperatives and leading enterprises. While obtaining fixed income from land transfer fees, relocated households can also come back to do some odd jobs. These adjustments in production relations involve the fundamental interests of relocated households everywhere; if land transfer fees are too low and the income from coming back to do odd jobs is too little, the interests of relocated households will be harmed.
Safeguarding the interests of relocated households in the receiving area also needs to be comprehensive. Within a centralized resettlement community, which location is better and which is inferior is something relocated households care about a great deal. How to resettle them cannot be decided on a whim; the wishes of the masses must be respected and the methods of the masses used. For example, organizing the relocated households and using the lottery method they accept can effectively calm different opinions and grievances. The most important issue is housing prices. Housing price levels must match the income levels of poor households and must not be too high. Conditions must be created for poor households: poverty-alleviation funds support part, farmers' own funds cover part, and farmer loans solve part.
Safeguarding the production of relocated households needs to be even more comprehensive. The “Rain and Dew Plan” for training relocated households and the “Platform Plan” for building industry-based poverty alleviation must be carried out in practice everywhere. Measures such as recruitment and education must give priority to poor households. In short, only when all policies reflect the conscience of poverty alleviation and all measures reflect the driving force of poverty alleviation will all relocated households and relocated people have support for escaping poverty and sustainable ways to become prosperous.
After crossing mountains and ridges, one finally arrives at Longjing Village, Xiaozhai Township, Liyuan Village, Ludian County, Yunnan Province, in the contiguous destitute area of the Wumeng Mountains. This village sits in a mountain hollow on a mid-slope, with steep mountain paths that require climbing with hands and feet just to reach a villager's doorstep. Drinking water is very difficult to obtain; one must go more than 1 km away to carry water back. Of the village's 1689 households and 6635 people, more than 200 households still have a per capita income below 2300 yuan. The mountain villages face widespread and deep poverty, mostly because they are located on the mountainside. To escape poverty, local governments and farming households first think of striving to raise crop yields per unit area and, based on resource endowments, launching some planting, breeding and processing projects. But after many years, they found the poverty-alleviation results were not ideal: in a situation where “one place's water and soil cannot support its own people,” relocation-based poverty alleviation for poor villages like Longjing Village has become a realistic choice.
Relocation-based poverty alleviation is an important path for targeted poverty alleviation and targeted poverty elimination. Where to relocate to? How should production and daily life be arranged after relocation? How should the cultivated land be handled after relocation? How can people integrate into the new village after moving there? A series of questions follow, and only by properly resolving them without harming the interests of poor households can this path work.
Whichever arrangement is adopted, the interests of poor households must be effectively safeguarded, their interests maximized, so that they can move in, settle down steadily, have development prospects and something to look forward to.
Where to relocate to is a process of adjusting the interests of all parties. No matter where they move, the first requirement is to ensure that the living environment and living standards of the relocated poor households are higher than before. Medical care nearby, schooling nearby, buying small daily goods nearby; convenient access to water, electricity and roads. The receiving area must transfer benefits to the poor households, and the government must compensate the receiving area through transfer payments; only such interest adjustments can satisfy both the relocated households and the receiving area.
Relocated households leave behind two visible assets in their original place of residence: first, the old house, and second, the cultivated land. Some places are exploring the development of rural tourism in the original place of residence, with the old houses purchased from poor households by developers at a reasonable price. If rural tourism cannot be developed, then villagers within the same village may buy and sell among themselves according to their own needs to adjust. These methods are all based on protecting the interests of relocated households.
Cultivated land arrangements need to be comprehensive. In principle, centralized resettlement sites must not be too far from the original place of residence, so that relocated households can still come back to tend their contracted land, mountain forests and water surfaces. In some places, combined with explorations of comprehensive rural reform, the cultivated land of relocated households is transferred in a centralized way to large households, joint households, specialized cooperatives and leading enterprises. While obtaining fixed income from land transfer fees, relocated households can also come back to do some odd jobs. These adjustments in production relations involve the fundamental interests of relocated households everywhere; if land transfer fees are too low and the income from coming back to do odd jobs is too little, the interests of relocated households will be harmed.
Safeguarding the interests of relocated households in the receiving area also needs to be comprehensive. Within a centralized resettlement community, which location is better and which is inferior is something relocated households care about a great deal. How to resettle them cannot be decided on a whim; the wishes of the masses must be respected and the methods of the masses used. For example, organizing the relocated households and using the lottery method they accept can effectively calm different opinions and grievances. The most important issue is housing prices. Housing price levels must match the income levels of poor households and must not be too high. Conditions must be created for poor households: poverty-alleviation funds support part, farmers' own funds cover part, and farmer loans solve part.
Safeguarding the production of relocated households needs to be even more comprehensive. The “Rain and Dew Plan” for training relocated households and the “Platform Plan” for building industry-based poverty alleviation must be carried out in practice everywhere. Measures such as recruitment and education must give priority to poor households. In short, only when all policies reflect the conscience of poverty alleviation and all measures reflect the driving force of poverty alleviation will all relocated households and relocated people have support for escaping poverty and sustainable ways to become prosperous.