Frontline officials give their all in the poverty alleviation "grand competition"
The poverty alleviation grand competition is another major initiative by Guizhou to concentrate efforts on poverty alleviation after the spring offensive campaign. It consistently weaves the grand poverty alleviation strategy throughout economic and social development, calling on officials at all levels across the province to actively devote themselves to the cause of poverty alleviation, competing on responsibility and commitment, on paths and methods, on official work style, on mental attitude, and on the people's sense of gain. In no time, tens of thousands of village-stationed officials and village leaders striving on the front lines of poverty alleviation rose to the challenge, sweating for the cause of poverty alleviation and sowing the seeds of hope for prosperity.
"The State Forestry Administration secured 1,500 forest ranger positions for Dushan County. Each forest ranger earns 10,000 yuan a year, which is enough for a family of four to escape poverty. That means 6,000 impoverished people in the county have been lifted out of poverty because of this. All of this is thanks to Secretary Zhang actively helping us appeal to our parent authorities - only then did today's path out of poverty for 6,000 impoverished people become possible!" Villagers let out deep sighs of admiration when they heard Zhang Mingji, the first secretary stationed in Zilinshan Village of Dushan County by the State Forestry Administration, chatting with Long Kui, director of the Dushan County Poverty Alleviation and Development Bureau, about the path of ecological protection and poverty alleviation.
Recently, our reporting team arrived at Zilinshan Village, where Zhang Mingji is stationed, and saw transport vehicles busy hauling stone material onto the village road. The planned village thoroughfare, wide enough for two vehicles to pass side by side, was nearly complete. Walking into the village, we found that this village, which originally had no industrial support due to its high-altitude cold climate, had finally found a path to development, growing cold-tolerant, shade-loving Sphagnum moss. Villagers of Zishan Village, who had tasted poverty to the full, vied with one another to talk about the changes in their village over the years.
Zilinshan Village is located in the hinterland of Zilinshan National Forest Park and the Duliu River Provincial Wetland Protection Area. It is an important ecological function zone and water conservation area, and also one of the most remote mountain villages in Dushan County. Factors such as its remote geographical location, harsh climate conditions, backward production methods and outdated ways of thinking have caused this village to lag in development.
Zhang Mingji's connection with Zilinshan Village began in August 2016, when, three months after his marriage, he voluntarily applied to be stationed in Zilinshan Village as "first secretary." Since being stationed there, he has always insisted on eating and living together with the villagers, personally practicing the "Two Studies, One Action" campaign, and contributing his own strength to local development. "In 2015, the whole village had 400 impoverished households, 1,040 people. Among them, 200 households and 718 people were general poor households, and 200 households and 322 people were subsistence allowance households, with a poverty incidence rate reaching 41.0%. Old Zilinshan Village in particular was a national Category I poverty-stricken village. Weak grassroots organizations, poor basic conditions, deep poverty and heavy development tasks are the most obvious features of Zilinshan Village." When talking about the village's situation, Zhang Mingji reeled off the facts as if counting his family treasures.
Behind his familiarity with the village's situation is the result of two years of Zhang Mingji and the villagers treating each other with absolute sincerity. "I'm from Liaoning. When I first entered the village, I couldn't even communicate with the villagers in Mandarin. Now the village committee members can all speak Mandarin, and quite a few villagers can also communicate directly with us without any barrier," Zhang Mingji recalled.
Through investigation, Zhang Mingji aimed his efforts at the grassroots organizations of Zilinshan Village. Combining this with the "Two Studies, One Action" learning and education campaign, he used various methods such as study tours, lectures by renowned teachers, courtyard discussions and on-site investigations to guide the Party members and villagers of Zilinshan Village in identifying gaps, guiding their thinking and refining their ideas, continuously improving their abilities and performance through practice. At the same time, he selected university students and outstanding prosperity leaders as village officials to strengthen the village "two committees" team.
The difficulty of building roads has been an obstacle to the development of the people of Zilinshan Village for generations, and road construction has become the villagers' most urgent need. Where would the road-building funds come from? After many twists and turns, through Zhang Mingji's coordination and efforts, project funding of 80 million yuan was secured for the construction of village and group access roads in Zilinshan Village. Today, the widening and hardening projects for several village and group access roads in the village have started construction, all dead-end roads have been connected, with a total length exceeding 40 kilometers. "The old road was only three meters wide. During festivals, when many cars came home, it was easy to get stuck. The group access roads weren't connected either. Some villagers had to walk a long way before they could get a ride, and going to the county seat took more than two hours of hassle. Once all these roads are built, we'll save at least half the time getting to the county. All of this is thanks to our 'first secretary'!" said Wu Tianxue, a villager of Zilinshan Village.
With the roads connected, the village's infrastructure is also gradually improving. With Zhang Mingji's help, Zilinshan Village installed 47 solar streetlights and completed over 3,000 meters of field ridge roads. A cultural square and meeting room with an investment of more than 300,000 yuan have been built and put into use. A village drinking water improvement project with an investment of 500,000 yuan is about to start construction.
With Party organization capacity enhanced and infrastructure in place, how could villagers achieve increased income and prosperity? During his investigation, Zhang Mingji discovered that the local native Sphagnum moss is an important wetland plant that conserves water sources. Local villagers often harvested and sold it, which became an important source of income for them, but it also had an adverse impact on the local ecological environment.
In response to this situation, Zhang Mingji adopted a method combining "blocking" and "channeling," carrying out exploration of a wetland reward compensation and poverty alleviation development model in Zilinshan Village. On the one hand, he applied to establish an ecological forest ranger team of 50 people to comprehensively manage and protect the wild Sphagnum moss areas; on the other hand, he guided villagers to cultivate Sphagnum moss in farm fields, successively integrating nearly 5 million yuan in forestry and other funds to support village cooperatives and villagers in field cultivation; at the same time, he applied for and distributed more than 800,000 yuan in central wetland protection reward funds.
At present, the village's Sphagnum moss field cultivation area has reached 2,000 mu. This has not only effectively controlled agricultural pollution but also initially achieved cultivation scale and industrialization, forming an ecological protection and regional development poverty alleviation model of "comprehensive protection on the mountain, moderate development at the foot of the mountain, and combining harvesting with cultivation in farm fields." This single industry alone will increase the annual income of cultivating farmers by more than 2,500 yuan per mu.
"In early March this year, I sold 600 bags and earned more than 20,000 yuan," said Wu Longmei, a large-scale Sphagnum moss grower in Zilinshan Village. Through our inquiry, we learned that Wu Longmei not only planted 40 mu locally but also contracted 100 mu in Shangsi Town. Last year, her family's annual net income reached 200,000 yuan, and she also helped provide employment for more than 10 people, making her a veritable small boss.
Aiming at the beautiful natural scenery advantage of Zilinshan Village, Zhang Mingji mobilized 6 Party member officials to take the lead in establishing Zilinshan Agriculture and Forestry Development Co., Ltd., developing rural tourism with an industrial development model of "village Party branch + company + cooperative + villagers," strengthening the village collective economy and driving farmer employment, with the village collective economy holding a 60% stake. In September 2016, the first rural inn built by Zilinshan Village with more than 700,000 yuan in raised funds officially opened, becoming a stable source of income for the village collective economy. At the same time, by holding the "Azalea Sightseeing Festival," carrying out poverty alleviation industry fund share dividends, preferential loan dividends and so on, the channels for Zilinshan Village's collective economic income were further broadened. In 2016, the village collective economy achieved a breakthrough from zero, increasing village collective income by 151,000 yuan in total, smoothly shedding the "empty shell village" label for the village collective economy.
At present, the general poor households in Zilinshan Village have dropped from the original 200 households and 718 people to the current 71 households and 262 people, among which Old Zilinshan Village has successfully shed the label of a Category I poverty-stricken village.
In the blink of an eye, June has come around again. Tan Yuefeng, the first secretary stationed in Yanxi Village of Dewang Township, Jiangkou County by Tongren Polytechnic College, had been in Yanxi Village for more than a year. Since being stationed in the village in April 2016, he had done his utmost to handle villagers' affairs and gathered hearts and strength to pursue development, warming this land of Yanxi with his sincere heart and deep affection. Now when Tan Yuefeng is mentioned in the village, every villager gives a thumbs-up.
Yanxi Village is located in the northern part of Dewang Township, governing 13 villager groups, with a total of 292 households and 1,304 people, among which 102 households and 347 people are poor households. The villagers of this village have few sources of income, weak infrastructure and great difficulty in increasing income, making it one of the key poverty-stricken villages in Jiangkou County.
When he first came to Yanxi Village, through more than a month of in-depth visits and investigations, Tan Yuefeng traveled to every group and hamlet in Yanxi Village, focusing on sorting out the village's organizational development situation, infrastructure status, public services and industrial development conditions. He gained comprehensive and detailed first-hand information on the village situation and poor households, and personally drew a map of the people's conditions in Yanxi Village.
He often said, "When stationed in a village, you must look downward with your eyes, sink your body downward, and step downward with your feet. Go out and walk around more, and listen more to the voices of the people." For more than a year, he insisted on eating, working and living together with the people, measuring the people's conditions with his footsteps, meeting the people face to face, earnestly listening to their innermost thoughts, helping them solve practical difficulties, narrowing the distance between himself and the people, and establishing deep feelings with them.