28 BEIJING REVIEW MARCH 12, 2020 http://www.bjreview.com
OUT OF POVERTY
F
oping County in Shaanxi Province,
northwest China, is an idyllic place
tucked in the rolling Qinling Mountains
and home to rare animals such as giant pan-
das, snub-nosed monkeys, antelopes and
the crested ibis. Though free from the novel
coronavirus, it has activated strict preven-
tion measures since the outbreak including
restricting unnecessary production activities.
But with the onset of spring and eas-
ing of the epidemic, Foping is reclaiming
its vitality. Outside the edible fungus pro-
duction base of a farmer cooperative in
Xiaojiazhuang Village, pickup trucks carrying
mushrooms and vans loaded with produc-
tion supplies zip back and forth. At the base,
two groups of workers are busy cultivating
mushrooms.
The cooperative has taken the required
measures for the prevention and control of
the epidemic, including measuring workers’
temperature and disinfecting machines and
workplaces, according to Jiang Chonghua,
the head of the village and the cooperative.
He added that the employees work on dif-
ferent shifts and in different zones to reduce
the chance of infection.
Mushroom growing is a major source
of income for the village’s 180 households.
Xiaojiazhuang has established a complete
industrial chain from cultivation, warehous-
ing, packaging, transportation, marketing to
waste treatment. Launched in 2018, the co-
operative has helped poor households move
out of poverty, Jiang said.Eliminating poverty
The year 2020 is a landmark in Shaanxi’s anti-
poverty battle. On February 27, the provincial
government announced that all of its impov-
erished counties had shaken off poverty.
“This is an important sign of a decisive
victory in the battle against poverty in our
province,” said Wen Yinxue, head of the
Shaanxi Provincial Poverty Alleviation and
'HYHORSPHQW2IĶFHShaanxi used to have a large poor
population. As of 2012, 96 of its 107 ur-
ban districts and counties had a significant
number of impoverished people and 56
were listed as poor counties by the Central
*RYHUQPHQW'XHWRLQWHQVLĶHGSRYHUW\DOOH
viation efforts in recent years, the number of
poor people in the province has plummeted
from 5.92 million at the end of 2011 to
183,400 at the end of 2019, with the poverty
headcount ratio down from 21.4 percent to
0.75 percent. Foping was taken off the list in
2018.
Speaking about Shaanxi’s poverty allevia-
tion achievements, Wen said impoverished
people in the province now have adequate
food and clothing and access to compulsory
education, basic medical services, safe hous-
ing and safe drinking water.
In addition, rural infrastructure has also
been significantly improved, and all villages
have access to paved roads, clinics, electric-
ity and broadband network services.Progressing
On Two Fronts
Shaanxi Province continues poverty alleviation efforts amid epidemic
By Wang Hairong
A farmer in Wangwan Village,
Xi’an City in Shaanxi Province,
northwest China, works in
a vegetable greenhouse
on February 26XINHUA