438 Modern Agricultural Reforms
Benefits and experiences
The four-year practice of the GSES project achieved remarkable economic, social
and ecological benefits. The total output value of industry and agriculture reached
26.34 million yuan RMB in 1991, or 83.07 per cent more as compared with that
in 1988. The gross profit of the village economy amounted to 7.31 million yuan
RMB, or 163.49 per cent as compared to that in 1988, and per capita income
reached 1621 yuan RMB. increasing 169.27 per cent as compared to that of 1988.
The social development of the village had ended its vicious circle and transferred
from poverty to economic prosperity and ecological sustainability. The main
experi ences of GSES construction can be summarized as follows:
1 implementation of IFS in environmental protection and comprehensive utili-
zation of resources;
2 overall planning and design for the integrated village development;
3 establishment of corresponding institutions to manage the relationship between
humans and the environment; and
4 development of local culture and capacity building toward sustainable devel-
opment.
In summary, GSES presents a successful example for sustainable development at
the village level in China. Perhaps some of the experiences could also be useful for
other countries, especially the developing countries, for finding their own methods
in eco-village construction.
Case study II: Liuminying eco-village
Background
Liuminying Village is situated in Daxing County, about 50km from Beijing. It has
a total area of 14.7ha, of which 11.6ha is arable land. The population totals 898,
including 560 workers. Liumingying used to be an area of saline–alkaline soils
with acute shortage of fertilizer, fuel and forage. Peasants could not earn enough to
support their families and had to depend on government help. Before implemen-
tation of the programme of IFS, production was mainly concentrated in agricul-
ture and more than 95 per cent of workers were engaged in crop production. The
gross production of the village was 680,000 yuan, of which 78 per cent was from
agriculture. The average per capita income was only 405 yuan. Due to long-term
and excessive input of chemical fertilizers, accelerated degradation of soil and pol-
lution of the environment had occurred.
The construction of Liumingying eco-village
In early 1983, the design for the eco-village was implemented, with help of scien-
tists. An important step was to manipulate the production structure from mono-
cultivation to multi-components and integrative production systems. The production
system of the village comprises three interlinked subsystems. The first is the