Source: CCTV.com

05-07-2006 15:59

It's been 7 years since China began its nationwide policy to turn both arable land and wasteland into forest.

Gansu Province, the windy, sandy front of China.

Farmers here have been working for years on the loess plateau to tame the environment.

Seven years ago, they began planting trees on barren mountains.

Their hard work has paid off. Soil erosion is being contained. And patches of flowers brighten the bare hills on a cold spring morning.

To convert land into forest has become one of the top priorities for China's green development. And for many farmers who have been living on their land for generations, the land into forest practice is helping them to expand ways of making more money.

April is the tree planting season. The government pays these farmers for each tree they plant on their land.

This woman says she can plant up to 50 trees a day and make 1,000 yuan, about 150 US dollars, a month.

And turning unproductive land into forest has other benefits.

63-year-old Ning Kezhong made the change three years ago. With government help, he planted apricot trees. And he's pleased with the fruits of his labor.

Ning said: "I can make at least 10 times more money from the apricots than from grain."

The government used to remunerate farmers for converting land with grain subsidies.

Since last year, cash has replaced grain. The government pays about 300 US dollars a year for each hectare of converted farmland.

The local government considers the land into forest policy a win-win practice.

Ma Shangying, Director of Gansu Forestry Department said: "The ecological environment of Gansu is fragile. To restore land into forest is an important measure to improve the poor natural conditions and to increase farmers' income."

The afforestation policy is regarded by both officials and farmers as an effective way to shake off poverty.

And over the next five years, Gansu plans to create another 1 million hectares of forest.

 

Editor:Chen Minji