Grassland ecological subsidy policy sparks herders' entrepreneurial vitality
“Last year, the province established a pilot performance management scheme in Shaliuhe Town and Quanji Township of Gangca County, linking the distribution of grassland ecological protection subsidy funds to protection responsibilities and protection results. This reform was aimed at protecting the grassland we rely on for survival, and won the support of the vast majority of herders.” Caibao, a prosperity leader in Ningxia Village, Quanji Township, Gangca County, Qinghai, knows well what strengthening grassland ecological protection means for herders.
Adhere to ecological protection first, and achieve the “three wins” goal of ecological improvement, production development and prosperous living through reform. Over the past year, Ningxia Village organized grassland stewards to strictly verify the grazing-ban areas, acreage and livestock numbers of each household, formulate livestock reduction plans, and implement livestock reduction measures and stewardship responsibility systems. The whole county conducted level-by-level assessments of herder households, grassland stewards, village committees and township (town) governments in accordance with the “Gangca County Subsidy Mechanism Herder Household Performance Assessment Form.”
Village Party branch secretary Zhang Xinglong said: “Now 70% of the subsidy funds are paid into herders' accounts through the ‘one-card’ system, and the reserved 30% is paid out through performance assessment. If herders graze for one day during the grazing-ban period, 1% of the grazing-ban subsidy funds will be deducted, with a maximum deduction of 30%; if livestock exceeds the carrying capacity by 1%, 1% of the grass-livestock balance reward funds will be deducted, with a maximum deduction of 30%. These deducted reward and subsidy funds are mainly used to reward outstanding herder households, build village-level infrastructure, and so on.”
By linking the performance assessment system to herder households' grazing-ban subsidy funds, herders and the masses, while enjoying policy subsidies, take the initiative to implement grazing bans and livestock reduction, achieve a grass-livestock balance, and treat protecting the grassland as their own due responsibility, thus building a win-win situation of effective protection of the grassland environment and sound ecological and production development. Through the performance management pilot, Gangca County found a new method for implementing the grassland ecological subsidy policy, marking that Qinghai took the lead nationwide in initially establishing a performance assessment method for the grassland ecological protection subsidy mechanism.
From exploring the “double transformation and double win” of modern plateau animal husbandry, to promoting supporting technologies for efficient Tibetan sheep breeding, and then to achieving the “three births in two years” goal for Tibetan ewes, Ningxia Village has always stood at the forefront of grassland ecological animal husbandry development, and the annual income of villagers has increased by thousands of yuan each year. In 2014, the village's per capita income is expected to reach about 12,000 yuan.
“Take the right path, use the fruits of science and technology, and develop large-scale breeding; only then will our herders' lives undergo great changes!” Caibao said. Last year, to protect the grassland ecology, 90% of herder households in Ningxia Village adopted supporting technologies for efficient Tibetan sheep breeding for housed and semi-housed breeding. In particular, the village Party secretary took the lead in demonstrating the experimental project of “three births in two years” for Tibetan ewes, which increased net income by more than 100,000 yuan over two years, opening up another path to prosperity for increasing the income of the village's herders.
“To achieve a fundamental improvement in ecology, increase herders' incomes and keep market supply undiminished, we must, on the premise of protecting the grassland ecology, break with tradition, change production methods, rely on ecological animal husbandry cooperatives to develop large-scale breeding, and seek benefits from scientifically applicable technology and refined management.” Cairang, director of the Gangca County Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau, introduced that through the pilot, grazing bans and livestock reduction in Ningxia Village were fully implemented, and many herders began to invest in the forage industry, develop large-scale breeding and engage in tourism and other tertiary industries, already embarking on channels for diversified income growth.