Wangbeifeng Village in Hengshi Town, Ningxiang: Poverty Alleviation Through Building a Work Team That Will Never Leave
Village Profile
When people mention Wangbeifeng, the first thing they think of is the towering antenna tower on the mountaintop, from which broadcast and television signals cover most townships in the entire county. Wangbeifeng Village in Hengshi Town, at the foot of Wangbeifeng, should by all logic be the first place to receive "wealth-building information," yet this village is a provincially designated poverty-stricken village. The village has a total area of 16.2 square kilometers, a total population of 3,568 people, and 24 villager groups under its jurisdiction. The per capita arable land is less than 9 fen, and in the past grain was only enough to fill stomachs. Amid remote mountains and wild waters, villagers relied entirely on a dilapidated concrete road less than 4 m wide for travel, and there were as many as 178 registered poor households with 589 people.
"We will vigorously promote the transformation of poverty alleviation and development from blood-transfusion-style poverty alleviation to targeted poverty alleviation, and build a work team that will never leave..." In 2015, the very year Wangbeifeng Village was designated a provincially designated poverty-stricken village, with the arrival of the village-stationed poverty alleviation work team composed of staff from supporting units such as Changsha Xiandao Investment Holding Group and the Changsha Water Affairs Bureau, targeted poverty alleviation was vigorously advanced, and Wangbeifeng Village underwent changes that made people sit up and take notice: a photovoltaic poverty alleviation power station with a total installed capacity of nearly 60 kilowatts was recently put into operation and began yielding results, able to drive an annual increase of more than 60,000 yuan in the village collective economy; a thousand-mu vegetable base increased villagers' annual income by more than 600,000 yuan; the widened and hardened village road is 7 m wide and about 10 kilometers long, making travel convenient for villagers and promoting industrial development, becoming a broad road out of poverty toward prosperity; more and more villagers have purchased motorcycles, tractors, and even cars, and the once quiet village has become more and more lively!
Liu Tianyu (first from left), the first secretary stationed in the village, is learning about the living and production conditions of poor households.
A New Village Road: Convenient Travel Boosts Development
"Even in this mountain hollow of ours, we can now smell gasoline and hear car horns. It is very convenient for villagers to travel. Thanks to the village-stationed work team for their efforts!" A reporter recently came to the Wangbeifeng Village Committee, and village Party branch secretary Zou Shuangying said gratefully.
Before the village-stationed work team arrived at Wangbeifeng Village, villagers relied entirely on a dilapidated concrete road less than 4 m wide for travel. The road surface was cracked and uneven, and on rainy days villagers riding motorcycles could easily fall if they were not careful. Moreover, because the road was not wide enough, not only was it difficult for trucks to drive in, but even two cars meeting had to carefully yield to each other to pass. Building a broad and solid village road was the dream in villagers' hearts and also a need for Wangbeifeng Village's development.
"If you want to get rich, first build roads." After arriving in the village, Liu Tianyu, the first secretary dispatched by the city to be stationed in the village, immediately identified that one of the causes of poverty in Wangbeifeng Village was weak infrastructure and inconvenient transportation. He and the group of village committee members surveyed the area along the road one by one, quickly determined a road quality improvement and upgrading plan, and raised 4.8 million yuan through supporting units such as the Changsha Xiandao Investment Holding Group and the Changsha Water Affairs Bureau, launching the construction of multiple infrastructure projects including transportation and water conservancy.
"Last year, the poverty alleviation units invested nearly 3 million yuan in our village, building new village roads and widening old village roads by nearly 10 kilometers, and this year they will also build 3 kilometers of new village roads. The newly built village road is 7 m wide, thoroughly solving the problem of inconvenient transportation in our village, and the villagers' 'village road dream' is about to be fully realized." Zou Shuangying introduced that the poverty alleviation units also invested 800,000 yuan to complete the first phase of the Wangbei Reservoir pipe network irrigation project, enabling 680 mu of paddy fields to save more than 50% of water; invested 700,000 yuan to reinforce and repair nearly 20 hill ponds, improving the drought resistance capacity of the village's planting areas; invested 230,000 yuan to dredge, line, and clear 2,500 m of canals, ensuring that the irrigation water system in the village-level planting areas and grain-producing areas remains unobstructed; and invested 70,000 yuan to build 500 m of new canals, ensuring that the vegetable base is free from worries about drought and flooding.
Wang Su'e, a poor household, is feeding local spotted pigs. Photo by Li Xianqiang, reporter of this newspaper.
New Actions Build a Dream of Prosperity for Villagers
"Sweet potato rice, root fire, besides the immortals it's me." This was how poor villagers in Wangbeifeng Village used to mock their own lives.
Wang Su'e, now 54 years old, had always lived a very impoverished life. Her daughter had suffered from epilepsy since childhood, could not take care of herself, and often fell, requiring thousands of yuan in medical expenses every year. In order to better care for their daughter, Wang Su'e and her husband Ma Ziran did not go out to work, and could only do odd jobs near Hengshi Town, with extremely limited income. Wang Su'e told the reporter that a few years ago her husband broke his leg while doing odd jobs. Not only did it cost a large amount in medical expenses, but it also left him with mobility problems, making it impossible for him to go out to do odd jobs again. The small bungalow at home had been in disrepair for years and often leaked when it rained.
Fortunately, the arrival of the village-stationed poverty alleviation work team changed Wang Su'e's fate. The work team helped Wang Su'e apply for funds for renovating a dilapidated house, turning the long-neglected home into a "new house" in the blink of an eye. They also helped the couple find work at a vegetable planting base. Combined with land transfer rent, the family was able to increase net income by more than 10,000 yuan per year. The work team also gave Wang Su'e 3 free small spotted piglets and contacted relevant companies to implement purchase at a guaranteed floor price. Now, relying on hard work, together with the second-level disability subsidy for their daughter, Wang Su'e and her husband can have an annual income of nearly 20,000 yuan for the whole family.
When speaking of the specific poverty alleviation measures, Liu Tianyu recounted them one by one. "In terms of the planting industry, we introduced a vegetable company to the village and created 4 vegetable planting bases: Wangbeifeng, Zhongfeng, Sixi, and Linye. We implemented an operating model in which the company leases land and hires villagers to participate in planting, developing a total of 1,000 mu of planting bases and 83 mu of vegetable greenhouses, and driving the development of surrounding planting industries, forming a good development trend. At present, these vegetable planting bases solve the employment problem of nearly 200 people in Wangbeifeng Village, more than half of whom are poor households. Per capita annual income can be increased by more than 3,000 yuan, while the village-level collective annual income increases by about 80,000 yuan." "In terms of the breeding industry, we introduced relevant companies to invest 140,000 yuan, distributing spotted piglets and bee seedlings free of charge to poor households and implementing a breeding poverty alleviation plan. By April this year, a total of 51 poor households had participated in the breeding poverty alleviation plan. Among them, 41 poor households raised 116 spotted pigs, which can increase annual income by about 290,000 yuan, or about 2,500 yuan per capita; 10 poor households raised 50 boxes of bees, which can increase annual income by about 40,000 yuan, or about 1,300 yuan per capita." Liu Tianyu introduced.
It is worth mentioning that last year Wangbeifeng County-level Forest Park was approved, and the village made a new breakthrough in the tourism industry. At present, 3 agricultural development companies have settled in the forest park, integrating sightseeing, tourism, and leisure, which can provide employment for more than 30 local villagers and drive local economic development.
A New Pathway: Long-Term Benefits from Photovoltaic Power Generation
At the foot of Wangbeifeng, brand-new blue solar photovoltaic panels are lined up in a row, sparkling in the sunlight. The photovoltaic power station with a total installed capacity of nearly 60 kilowatts has been put into operation and begun yielding results, and is expected to drive an annual increase of more than 60,000 yuan in the village collective economy.
Deng Taichu, the newly retired former village Party branch secretary, stood in front of the panels and said happily: "Solar energy is inexhaustible and endless, and it is clean, pollution-free, and low in investment cost. Under the care of superior leaders and with the support of supporting units, our village actively promoted the construction of the photovoltaic power station, and it is now connected to the grid and generating electricity. We sincerely believe this targeted poverty alleviation method is good!"
Solar photovoltaic panels and cables converge together, and a steady stream of electric current is about to flow into the local power grid. "The photovoltaic power station is a one-time investment with long-term benefits. It can continue generating electricity for 25 years and has considerable profitability. This blood-making-style poverty alleviation is truly excellent. The construction of the photovoltaic power station, together with these planting and breeding bases, is the hope for Wangbeifeng Village to escape poverty and become prosperous, and will also become work teams that will never leave!" Liu Tianyu said excitedly.