Land Remediation Projects in Poverty-stricken Counties in Tibetan Areas Promoting Poverty Alleviation
——A Case Study of Songpan County, Sichuan Province

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Institute of Land & Resources and Sustainable Development, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming 650221, China

Abstract Songpan County is a poverty-stricken county in the four provinces of China, one of the concentrated areas in China. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of land consolidation in Songpan County to promote poverty alleviation and development through specific cases. The results show that land remediation has improved agricultural production conditions, promoted agricultural efficiency, increased farmers’ income, improved rural living conditions, promoted the development of urban and rural integration, improved the ecological environment, solved the problem that restricts the survival and development of poverty-stricken areas, enhanced the ability of farmers to develop themselves, raised the level of civilization in rural areas, and promoted poverty alleviation and development. The poverty alleviation and development has provided certain financial support for land remediation. It has promoted land remediation, and pointed out key directions for land remediation. It has an indirect promotion effect on land remediation.

Key words Land remediation, Poverty alleviation, Poverty-stricken areas, Tibetan areas, Songpan County

1 Introduction

At present, China is in a critical period of building a well-off society in an all-round way. It is also the decisive period for poverty alleviation. Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy and society have developed rapidly. Industrialization and urbanization are advancing rapidly. However, the vast majority of border areas have not yet escaped the poverty and backwardness[1]. The Chinese government has always attached importance to poverty alleviation.NationalPlanforPovertyAlleviation(1994-2000),ChinaRuralPovertyAlleviationandDevelopmentProgram(2001-2010), andChinaRuralPovertyAlleviationandDevelopmentProgram(2010-2020) have been promulgated in success. The poverty-stricken population in rural areas has been greatly reduced. Infrastructure has improved significantly. Social undertakings have continued to improve. The survival and food and clothing problems of rural residents have been basically solved[2]. However, at this stage, the overall level of China’s economic and social development is not high, and the problem of regional development imbalance is becoming increasingly prominent. The deep-seated contradictions that restrict the development of poverty-stricken areas still exist. China’s poverty alleviation and development is still a historical task that must be adhered to for a long time[3]. In particular, the poverty alleviation and development in China has currently entered the spurt period. Problems such as increased poverty reduction costs and increased difficulty in poverty alleviation have become increasingly prominent. Therefore, in November 2015, the Chinese government issued theDecisiononWinningtheFightagainstPoverty, which clarifies that the poverty alleviation of the rural poor by 2020 is clearly the most difficult task for building a well-off society in an all-round way and proposes to take supernormal measures and come up with good methods focusing on targeted poverty alleviation[4].

2 Overview of study area

Songpan County is located in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province and northeast of Aba Prefecture. The county has an area of 8 486 km2, and a sea level of 2 850 m. It governs 4 towns and 21 townships, 143 villages and 4 communities with a total population of 76 000. It is one of the 14 poverty-stricken areas in China and one of the 45 poverty-stricken counties in the province. Songpan is a typical plateau Tibetan county, with poor natural conditions, weak infrastructure, lagging economic development, and relatively backward thoughts, concepts and culture. Coupled with illness, disability and lack of skills, poverty is prominent, resulting in a large amount of poverty, a wide area of poverty, a deep degree of poverty, a lot of special poverty, and a high risk of returning to poverty, leading to regional overall poverty. In 2014, 55 poverty-stricken villages with 2 131 households and 7 896 people were identified accurately. The incidence of poverty was 13.5%. After 2014, it has been dynamically adjusted. Currently, the number of poverty-stricken households is 2 088 with 7 583 people. Among them, 54.57% of the poor are distributed in 55 poor villages, and 45.25% are distributed in 85 non-poor villages. The county has a total of 599 households with 2 153 people who fall into poverty because of illness, accounting for 28.39%. There are 273 households with 937 people who fall into poverty because of disability, accounting for 12.35%. There are 836 households with 3 213 people who fall into poverty because of technology shortage, accounting for 42.37%. There are 336 households with 1 122 people who fall into poverty because of labor shortage, accounting for 14.79%. There are 44 households with 158 people who fall into poverty because of other factors, accounting for 2.08%.

3 Significance of land remediation for poverty alleviation

Land remediation is important process and method to increase the amount of cultivated land, promote the intensive use of land, and ensure the sustainable use of land resources. It is the main way to achieve the dynamic balance of total cultivated land. Through land remediation, the area of cultivated land can be effectively increased, and agricultural production conditions and ecological environment can be improved. It is extremely important to promote rural modernization, rural economic development and farmers’ income, promote the process of urban-rural integration and build a well-off society in an all-round way. Actively carrying out land remediation, fully tapping the potential of the land, increasing the area of effective cultivated land and realizing the dynamic balance of the total amount of cultivated land are not only the needs to implement theLandAdministrationLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChinabut also the needs to achieve poverty alleviation and development. In recent years, the Ministry of Land and Resources regards land remediation and high-standard farmland construction as an important platform and starting point for boosting the industry’s poverty alleviation and assisting in targeted poverty alleviation. It tilts to poverty-stricken areas in project arrangement and fund allocation. In the poverty-stricken areas, the upsurge of land remediation with land leveling, farmland water conservancy, field roads and ecological conservation as the main content has been set off, significantly improving production and living conditions and ecological environment in poor areas. Under the unified leadership of the local party committee and government, the departments of land and resources at all levels in poverty-stricken areas accords with their own reality, actively implement land remediation to promote poverty alleviation, and increase the intensity of land remediation.

4 Specific implementation cases of land remediation in Songpan County

4.1ProjectconstructionprofileThe project area is located in Yancong Village and Xiningguan Village of Songpan County. It is 14 km south of the downtown, and is under the jurisdiction of Anhong Township. The project area is bordered by Xianami Village in the east, Luoji Village and Gusi Village in the west, Yuntunbao Village and Napo Village in the south, and Xiongshan Village in the north. In accordance with the national technical requirements for land remediation, combined with Songpan’s own situation, on April 28, 2017, a company was randomly selected as the bidding agency. The construction unit entered the project area in late July. The supervision organization was set up, and it was responsible for the whole supervision of the project construction. It aims to comprehensively rectify the fields, waters and roads in the project area, improve the construction of local infrastructure, improve the structure of land use, develop and reorganize unused land, transform low-yield fields, increase the area of effective cultivated land, protect and improve the ecological environment, and improve local production and living conditions.

4.2ProjectdevelopmentsituationThe project completed various projects in December 2017. Actually, it started in July 2017, ends at the end of October 2017, with actual construction period of 4 months. The total planned investment of the project is 7 920 856 yuan. The construction scale is 399.54 ha. The increased new cultivated land is expected to be 37.73 ha. The project has been successfully completed. The actual investment is 5 049 832 yuan. The completion scale is 246.76 ha. The area of cultivated land newly increased is 19.55 ha.

4.3 Project construction and completion situation

4.3.1Land leveling. According to terrain, landforms and elevation, land ridges in the fields of the entire project area are merged. Some new ridges are prepared, while extra ridges are canceled to ensure the flatness of the fields. The fields are leveled and merged, and the tillage layer is thickened. The area of slopes that have been changed into terraces reaches 60.12 ha.

4.3.2Field roads. The field roads of 4 601.49 m in the project area has been reconstructed. A total of 25 passing bays are built. Retaining wall with length of 185.37 m and new roads with length of 1 300 m is built.

4.3.3Other works. In the project area, a new public sign and 79 individual engineering signs are set up.

4.3.4New arable land source statistics project after project implementation. The area of the remediation is 246.76 ha. The area of newly increased cultivated land is 19.55 ha.

4.4PolicyadheredtointheprojectworkThe project adheres to the principle of cherishing and rationally utilizing land and protecting cultivated land. The coordination of social, economic and ecological benefits should be fully considered to maintain the sustainable use of land resources. On the basis of according with local conditions, seeking truth from facts, technical reliability and feasibility, economic and rationality, the current situation of local land use and specific physical conditions of terrain, geomorphology, hydrology, geology and soil should be fully grasped. Combined with various engineering practices and related influencing factors, this project is completed with a high starting point, high standards and high quality. Through the implementation of this project, a basic and complete road system has been constructed. The renovation of villages should give due consideration to the requirements of the villagers’ production and living conditions. In terms of cultivated land, basically, the fields are regular, the arable land is flat, the depth of the cultivated soil is suitable for farming, and the quality of cultivated soil confirms to relevant regulations. It must confirm to the farming habits of local farmers and also consider the requirements of mechanized farming. Some of the farmlands are merged. The surplus ridges are abolished. The original farmlands and the newly increased farmlands can meet the demand for food and vegetable cultivation. It can effectively reduce soil erosion, achieving the purpose of water and fertilizer conservation, stable production and high yield.

5 Land remediation projects in Songpan County promoting poverty alleviation

5.1 Directs effect of land remediation on poverty alleviation

5.1.1Land remediation fully reflects the scientific concept of development, and it is a government-based project for the government to do practical things for the people. With the development of productivity and the acceleration of the urbanization process, the contradiction between urban and rural land use has become increasingly prominent. Land remediation with the main goals of increasing the area of cultivated land, improving the quality of cultivated land, and improving agricultural production and living conditions of farmers has become an important measure to stabilize grain production and solve the problem of increasing farmers’ income. As far as the source and flow direction of funds and the management and organization requirements of remediated land are concerned, land remediation itself is an important means to narrow the urban-rural differences and promote the common development of social economy and culture[5]. The biggest beneficiaries of land remediation are the farmers. Therefore, it has received strong support from the majority of the farmers. They have praised the land remediation as a political project for the government to do practical things and do good things for the people. It is a concrete manifestation of practicing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s idea of county governance and establishing and implementing rural revitalization.

5.1.2The area of cultivated land is increased and the quality of cultivated land is improved through land remediation and development. Through the implementation of land leveling, irrigation drainage and field road projects, the fields, water, roads, forests and villages in rural areas are rectified comprehensively. The use of industrial and mining wasteland is recovered, and unused land is developed to increase the area of effective cultivated land. Some villages have been rehabilitated through land remediation, and the villages have a new look. The infrastructure has been greatly improved. The area of effective arable land is increased. The quality of arable land is improved. The agricultural production conditions are improved. The food production is increased. The land in Songpan County has been upgraded from level 12 to level 11 after the implementation of land remediation. After the completion of the project, 19.55 ha of cultivated land are increased. The investment in newly increased arable land is 258 300 yuan/ha.

5.1.3The ecological environment is improved and the problem that restricts the survival and development of poverty-stricken areas is resolved. During the construction of the land remediation project in Songpan County, ecological measures are implemented on both sides of existing road systems such as field roads and production roads, achieving the purpose of beautifying the environment, conserving water resources and maintaining water and soil. The slope of cultivated land is reduced by creating and maintaining irrigation and drainage channels. The impact of soil erosion and droughts and floods on agricultural production is reduced by constriction of biological slope protection, grit chambers and other engineering measures. While carrying out the construction of the land remediation project, agricultural water-saving irrigation and scientific fertilization are promoted, and the amount of water loss from farmland and the amount of water discharge during the rainfall period of the farmland are reduced. Thus, the agricultural non-point source pollution load is reduced, which is conducive to the improvement of the water environment in the project area. In the rocky desertification area of Songpan County, land remediation is carried out combined with ecological restoration, and "three-conservation farmlands" with water conservation, soil conservation and fertilizer conservation are constructed. In the process of land remediation, the land ownership is adjusted. The election of village representatives, symposiums and repeated coordination and communication have safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of farmers, reduced land ownership disputes, and promoted the harmony and stability of rural society. The implementation of the project will strengthen land use control and make land use more reasonable. For the best comprehensive benefit of the project area, the land area of each type is determined and incorporated into land use management. The land is operated legally. This plays an important role in the rational use of the ecological environment of land resources.

5.1.4Labor productivity is improved and agricultural production costs are reduced by improving facilities and traffic conditions in the project area. Infrastructure level is increased. Income level is increased. A platform is built for local farmers’ production and development. Through comprehensive land remediation, agricultural production conditions in the project area are improved. Before the implementation of the remediation project, the transportation facilities were extremely scarce and the production cost was large. Through the implementation of this project, the irrigation facilities are perfect to ensure the normal growth of crops. The accessibility of the roads provides the possibility of production and transportation for small machinery. The improved production efficiency frees up the surplus labor force, which is engaged in the development of the rest of the industry. It is possible to increase the income of farmers. Land is the basic platform for farmers’ production and development and poverty alleviation in the region. Land remediation project is to help the development of rural areas in poverty-stricken areas and build a basic platform through a series of engineering measures. Through the implementation of engineering measures for land remediation projects, the level of regional infrastructure has increased, the income level of farmers has increased, and the number of poor people has decreased, effectively achieving the goal of precisely helping local poor farmers. Land remediation has promoted targeted poverty alleviation and achieved remarkable results. It has a certain positive effect for solving other social problems in the region and promoting the harmonious development of society[6]. The soil layer of land in the project area is thickened. The farming system is changed to reduce the number of farmers. Human resources saved will be used to develop other production. Crop yield is improved and farmers’ income is increased.

5.1.5The employment opportunities of farmers are expanded and the income of farmers is increased, conducive to social stability in rural areas. The contents of land remediation include land leveling, field road construction, irrigation and drainage engineering, farmland protection and ecological environment maintenance[7]. The construction contents of each work mainly include excavation, backfilling, pavement, concrete pouring of ditches, block stone slurrying, PE pipe laying, shelter forest planting,etc. The construction contents with simple operations, such as excavation and backfilling, pipe laying and planting trees can give priority to the employment of local poor farmers, especially the registered ones. Construction enterprises use more than 80 local poor laborers/times, and the actual increase in the income of poor households reaches 160 000 yuan, increasing the labor income of poor households in the project area. Through land remediation, the amount of cultivated land has increased. It is conducive to local land transfer and large-scale planning, which improves labor productivity. The land remediation has provided convenience to the production and living of 79 households and 398 people (including 25 households and 105 people in poverty) in Yancong Village, Anhong Township and helped the village to lay a foundation for poverty alleviation.

5.1.6Land remediation promotes industrial development to fundamentally eliminate poverty. Comprehensive land remediation is an important means to effectively solve poverty. Songpan County will implement a combination of comprehensive land improvement and industrial poverty alleviation, adopt the modes of "leading enterprise+poor household" and "cooperative+poor household", and incorporate more poor households into the industrialization chain. The government guides and encourages large agricultural professionals and farmer cooperatives, with promoting the structural reform of the supply side of agriculture as the main line and expanding the characteristic agricultural industry and increasing farmers’ income as the goal, focusing on developing a breeding industry that meets the conditions of Songpan County. It effectively guarantees the demand of agricultural facilities for land in Songpan County. Farmers can obtain stable rental income through transferring the contracted land to the large-scale farmers and farmers’ professional cooperatives. Land desolation is avoided. The worries of the out-of-town farmers are solved. The transfer of rural labor is stimulated. Under the leadership of professional cooperatives, poor farmers will increase their income, advancing the pace of poverty alleviation.

5.2 Indirect effects of land remediation on poverty alleviation

5.2.1Poverty alleviation provides a certain financial support for land remediation. Land remediation project is a complex social system project. Especially for the projects related to village remediation, it is necessary to make overall plans to solve the funds for land remediation and infrastructure support, needing huge financial support[8]. Land remediation has higher technical requirements for funds. The funds invested by the government in land remediation are difficult to meet the needs. On the other hand, although some projects have integrated agriculture-related funds, there is still a shortage of funds. In particular, the funds for village rectification are seriously inadequate. In some areas, the land remediation project stopped construction due to insufficient capital investment. This has hindered the implementation process of rural land remediation. The scope of use of fiscal poverty alleviation funds includes the cultivation and expansion of distinctive industries and supporting poverty alleviation targets to develop crop farming, aquaculture, ethnic handicrafts and rural tourism. Combined with the input of poverty alleviation funds, land remediation can solve the demand for some funds.

5.2.2Poverty alleviation has a supplementary effect on land remediation. First of all, Songpan County always regards the optimization of poverty-stricken townships and villages’ agricultural industrial structure as the cultivation of leading industries as the focus of poverty alleviation and development. Cultivating the mountain industry helps to enhance the momentum of rural endogenous development. In terms of industry development, off-season vegetables and alpine Chinese herbal medicines are planted. Secondly, infrastructure construction is strengthened. Attention is paid to the construction of farmland, water conservancy, roads, communications and other engineering facilities in poverty-stricken areas to improve production and living conditions. The basic conditions of agricultural production are improved. The protection of basic farmland is strengthened. The area of cultivated land is ensured. Fertile soil engineering is vigorously implemented. The use of farmyard manure is promoted. Soil fertility is cultivated. The promotion and training of science and technology and capital investment is increased, enabling business operators to know the law, understand the law, abide by the law and operate legally. Agricultural resource management households are encouraged to cooperate with agricultural technology service personnel to provide farmers with pre-production, mid-production and post-production technical services. A technical information service platform is established. Resource sharing is realized. The occurrence of the phenomenon of manufacturing and selling counterfeit agricultural products is curbed. Land productivity is increased. Water conservancy projects in poverty-stricken areas are well implemented to expand the area of high-yield fields and improve the ability to resist natural disasters. The transport construction of poor villages is accelerated. The departmental responsibilities are strengthened. The traffic problem of villages that have not yet been accessed is solved. The village-level roads in rural areas are rebuilt. Cement roads have been accessed to every village. The transformation of rural powder grids and the construction of public culture are promoted continuously to ensure the electricity demand for rural production and living and effectively solve the problem of safe use of electricity by village-run enterprises and poor electricity consumption of a few farmers. The improvement of infrastructure and industrial support has supplemented and perfected the land remediation.

5.2.3Poverty alleviation points out the key direction for land remediation. General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the ideal of targeted poverty alleviation in 2013, which is to grasp the accurate identification and ensure accurate policy implementation. Based on the results of visiting poor households in poor villages, through the network-based investigation of poor households in the targeted poverty alleviation information platform, the poor villages in the county are accurately identified again, and the number of poor people, the level of poverty, and the causes of poverty are effectively grasped. At the same time, the advantages and functions of the "first secretary", the resident team and the grassroots cadres are fully displayed. A long-term mechanism for accurate identification is established and improved to ensure accurate support, accurate project arrangement, accurate use of funds, accurate measures, accurate personnel arrangement and accurate poverty alleviation[9].