Poverty Alleviation and Development in Anhui Province

　　【Overview】In 2011, in accordance with the deployments made by the state, the provincial party committed and provincial government on the anti-poverty work, Anhui Province implemented the development-oriented, open and pioneering poverty alleviation to improve the production and living conditions in poor areas, enhance the self-development ability of the poor, increase the income of the poor, narrow the development gap and comprehensively complete the anti-poverty tasks. The government issued 950 million Yuan of financial anti-poverty funds for Anhui Province that year, the provincial government allocated 120 million Yuan of matching funds, integrated the agriculture-supporting funds, comprehensive management funds for Jianghuai watershed and the special funds for rural safety drinking water projects of 260 million Yuan and issued a total of 380 billion Yuan of anti-poverty funds, accounting for 40% of the central budget. It invested nearly one billion Yuan of poverty-relief loans; strived for social contributions (including money and goods converted into money) and project funds of 650 million Yuan; and completed the entire village advancement of 594 key villages, achieving remarkable results in the anti-poverty work. The per capita net income of farmers in the 19 key counties for poverty alleviation and development reached 5195.7 Yuan, 933.9 Yuan more and 21.9% up over the figure in 2010 (4269 Yuan). After deducting price factors, the actual growth rate was 15.1%, four percentage points higher than the provincial average.

　　According to the monitoring of the Provincial Poverty Monitoring Office (estimated based on the poverty line of 2,300 Yuan), the province has a poor population of 7.9024 million and the incidence of poverty in rural areas is 14.7%.

　　【Entire village advancement】The province implemented entire village advancement in 594 key villages, issued special funds of 824.53 million Yuan for 1744 entire village advancement projects; built and rebuilt highroads of 2000 kilometers, built 400 bridges, implemented 500 farmland and water conservancy projects and 250 drinking water projects to address the drinking problem of 230,000 people and 170,000 heads of livestock; improved toilets of 20,000 square meters, built nearly 10,000 biogas digesters, nearly 40 waste disposal plants and 70 rural cultural facilities; built and renovated rural primary and secondary schools of more than 30,000 square meters, rural clinics and family planning offices of 32,000 square meters, provided assistance for nearly 1000 students and relocated more than 500 households and over 2000 people for poverty alleviation.

　　【Rain Plan】Anhui provincial government issued 35 million Yuan of financial anti-poverty funds for the implementation of Rain Plan projects. ① Implemented dynamic management of the training bases for Rain Plan. It adjusted 59 provincial training bases, trained 34300 labors in poor areas and provided stable jobs for 29,000 people. ② Continued to carry out the “Action to Subsidize Children from Needy Families to Receive Education”. The province subsidized a total of 14400 university and vocational school students from needy families in 2011. ③ Selected Zongyang, Linquan, Shucheng and Shou County as the pilot areas for reform of implementation program of the Rain Plan, provided direct living and tuition subsidies for the students from registered poor families to receive secondary and senior vocational education or skills trainings for at least one year, and invested financial anti-poverty funds of 12.7876 million Yuan to subsidize 18268 poor students. ④ Held practical agricultural technical trainings for 120,000 person-times. ⑤ Trained and transferred nearly 2000 rural retired soldiers

　　【Training of poverty alleviation cadres】The province held four trainings of poverty alleviation cadres for nearly 1000 person-times. The trainings were mainly about the “Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020)” and professional poverty-relief business, targeting at the poverty alleviation cadres, principals of key towns and key villages, principals of poverty alleviation leading enterprises and farmers’ cooperatives, college student village cadres, etc.

　　【Industrial poverty alleviation】① Continued to promote poverty relief discount loan system reform, fully liberalized restrictions on financial institutions, increased investment in discount loans and mainly supported the development of poverty alleviation leading enterprises and poor households. In 2011, the province allocated 23.47 million Yuan of interest subsidies to support 313 enterprises, of which 80 were national and provincial poverty alleviation leading enterprises, and issued small loan discount funds of 9.5 million Yuan to support the agricultural production of the poor. ② Took some county funds to support the construction of industrialization bases and vigorously cultivated leading and backbone industries to increase the income of farmers. In 2011, the province arranged more than 410 industrial development projects, including 214 planting projects, 106 breeding projects and 90 economic forest and fruit projects. ③ Issued 20 million Yuan of special funds to support 368 farmers’ cooperatives.

　　【Pilot poverty alleviation projects】① Pilot project of village-level mutual funds. The province issued special funds of 40 million Yuan to continue to promote pilot projects of village-level mutual funds in 29 national and provincial key counties for poverty alleviation and development. As of the end of 2011, the province has established 2487 mutual aid societies with 114,000 members (including 48,000 poor rural households) and total mutual funds of nearly 270 million Yuan. More than 400 million Yuan of loans was issued for 74,000 rural households (including 32,000 poor households). ② Central special lottery fund to support the pilot projects in poverty-stricken old revolutionary base areas. The province guided and supervised Jinzhai County and Taihu County to complete the project design and bidding of lottery welfare fund of 2010, launched the project implementation, and basically completed the annual capital plan and project implementation tasks. In 2011, the state arranged 15 million Yuan of lottery welfare funds for Anhui Province. ③ Pilot project of “county-based entire village advancement and contiguous development by capital integration”. In accordance with the principle of “overall planning for resource integration and comprehensive development”, the province continued to implement the cross-administrative villages and cross-town contiguous development in the contiguous poor areas concentrated with the poor and issued 25 million Yuan of anti-poverty funds to launch pilot projects of contiguous development in Lixin County, Qianshan County, Jing County, Funan County and Jin’an district, expanding the coverage of the pilot work.

　　【Convergence of two systems】The province comprehensively implemented the convergence of the two systems in all the 19 national key counties for poverty alleviation and development and ten provincial key counties and effectively identified the objects of poverty reduction, objects of the rural minimum living security system, objects of both poverty alleviation and subsistence security system and objects of five-guarantee system as well. At the same time, it extended the file registration of the poor to 17 counties (districts) in the key towns assigned with the task of anti-poverty work.

　　【Management of anti-poverty funds】The province continued to adhere to the annual target management system, financial anti-poverty funds reimbursement system, poverty alleviation project announcement and publicity system, the bidding system, centralized procurement system for bulk materials and equipment, the anaphase management and maintenance system as well as other anti-poverty fund and project management systems, and effectively strengthened the supervision and inspection.

　　【Poverty alleviation research】In accordance with the requirements of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, the provincial leaders and the staff of the province's poverty relief system carried out a variety of research activities and wrote more than 40 research reports of one million words. Anqing City Poverty Alleviation Office, jointly with the poverty alleviation, organization and statistical departments of relevant cities and counties of Hubei Province, carried out the interprovincial and inter-sectoral research and wrote the “Poverty Situation of Dabie Mountain Area” and “Poverty Situation of the Suburb of Anqing City” as well as other high-quality research reports.

　　【Poverty alleviation publicity】① We prepared the publicity pictures and special programs on the results of poverty alleviation and development of Anhui Province during the period from 2001 to 2010, participated in the “Exhibition on China’s Poverty Reduction Achievements in the New Century” and made propaganda of the anti-poverty results of our province to the domestic and foreign guests. ② Focusing on the study and implementation of the “Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020)”, the province publicized the pro-poor policies and held three special training courses for the leaders and poverty alleviation cadres of the relevant cities and counties (districts) assigned with the task of poverty alleviation and development in the province. ③ Two poverty alleviation publicity manuscripts of the province were reported on the CCTV, one reported by the Xinhuanet and more than ten by provincial official media. ④ The provincial poverty alleviation office continued the preparation of the “Poverty Alleviation and Development” and the “Poverty Alleviation Newspaper” and had 11 reports printed in 2011. ⑤ The province invested 100,000 Yuan of special funds for the development of information technology, improved the poverty alleviation websites of Anhui Province and encouraged city and county (district) poverty alleviation websites to carry out publicity on poverty reduction.

　　【Social poverty alleviation】① Continue to implement the system for provincial leaders to contact the key counties for poverty alleviation and development. In the whole year, a total of 1745 provincial leaders carried out field research and condolences activities. The province organized the work conference on the counterpart support for key counties such as Jixi, Yuexi, Susong and Jing County and implemented the supporting task for the units directly under the provincial government. ② Continued to strengthen the counterpart support of the institutions and enterprises directly under the provincial government. In 2011, we sent 31 comrades to act as leaders in key counties for poverty alleviation and development. 223 comrades (including central organs in Anhui Province) dispatched 92 cadres to the key counties, introduced investment of 650 million Yuan, organized labor transfer for 5500 person-times and subsidized more than 2900 poverty-stricken students. About 350 million Yuan (including material inputs) was invested for fixed-point poverty alleviation by the provincial, municipal and county supporting units. ③ Carried out the activities of "three supports and one alleviation" (support for agriculture, support for education and support for medical treatment; poverty alleviation), recruitment of university student village cadres, “double learning and double comparison” (learn culture and technologies; compare results and contributions) of rural women, the “Care Package” project (a national public service activity initiated by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to care about impoverished regions and the primary school students in disaster areas through mobilizing social forces to donate care packages), the "Action 120 for the Safety of Mother and Baby" (a public welfare program initiated by China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation to help poor mothers and babies so as to reduce the maternal and infant mortality), and college student subsidy project in the old revolutionary base areas. The province selected 1000 university and college graduates to support the project of "three supports and one alleviation" in various areas and appointed 1730 college students to act as the village cadres. The total value of the donated Care Packages amounted to 590600 Yuan, ranking 12th in the country.

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(Cx�# Apartments and Lishui City Founder Electric Co., Ltd., and listened to the anti-poverty work reports delivered by the provincial poverty alleviation office and Lishui city government. In the field research, Li Chunguang fully affirmed the exploration and efforts made by Zhejiang Province in the anti-poverty work and said that the remarkable results made by Zhejiang Province in poverty reduction is a good example for the whole country and its rich experience is a valuable reference for the anti-poverty work in the future.

 

　　From July 17 to 19, a delegation headed by Hong Yuntian, Director-General of Department of Policy, Law and Regulations of LGOP visited Zhejiang for field research on local anti-poverty work. The delegation listened to the work reports of Zhejiang Provincial Poverty Alleviation Office and the report on the implementation of the “Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020)”, and fully affirmed the anti-poverty work in Zhejiang Province.

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(Cx�# the poor has been improved, the consciousness and initiatives of the poor for learning and using science and technology have been significantly enhanced, and a large number of farmer agents and leaders of breeding industry and labor transfer appeared. Third, through the implementation of security policy for poverty alleviation, we gave priority to impoverished regions in issuing social security policies and took the poor as the key targets of the social security to ensure that all elderly people can be supported, all the sick can get medical treatment, assistance will be provided for all the persons with difficulties and people’s basic living can be guaranteed. All the rural households meeting the conditions for receiving subsistence allowance in the poor villages covered by entire village advancement were covered by the minimum living security system. When the poor farmers who participated in the new rural cooperative medical system and the new rural social old-age insurance system could not afford the individual payments of the insurance, we would solve the problem with the anti-poverty funds, achieving full coverage of impoverished regions of the new rural cooperative medical system, the new rural social pension insurance and the rural minimum living security system.

 

　　Make innovations to mechanisms for standardized development. In 2011, according to changes in the situation of poverty alleviation and development, the province revised the “Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Ordinance of Heilongjiang Province”. Based on changes in the connotations of poverty alleviation and development in the new era, it further improved the planning, fund and project management measures and increased the contents of planning formulation and implementation for contiguous poor areas with special difficulties and the system for withdrawal of key counties for poverty reduction. WE re-enacted the "Procedures for Entire Village Advancement for Poverty Alleviation and Development in Heilongjiang" and the "Methods for Acceptance of Entire Village Advancement for Poverty Alleviation and Development in Heilongjiang", raised the standards for entire village advancement and established the mechanism for poverty reduction of impoverished villages. In addition, we further improved Heilongjiang Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development Information Network and announced the village-level poverty alleviation and development planning, fund investment fields, project implementation and the name list of the poor on the website to receive public supervision for “Operations under Sunshine”, enhancing the transparency of our work.

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(Cx�#ly: "Times New Roman";mso-hansi-font-family:"Times New Roman"'>【Pilot area of central special lottery ticket public welfare fund】  In August, Damao Banner of Baotou City got, as the first in Inner Mongolia, the qualification of implementation unit of the entire village advancement project in impoverished old revolutionary base areas with central special lottery ticket public welfare fund. The contiguous development project implemented in the old revolutionary base areas of Wuke Town in Damao Banner with lottery ticket public welfare funds involved 6180 households and 20384 people from ten administrative villages and 108 natural villages, covering the development of irrigable land, planting industry, aquaculture and infrastructure construction. The total project investment was 35.1 million Yuan. After the project implementation, there will be an annual increase of 10.75 million Yuan in the net revenue, including 9.53 million Yuan in the revenue of planting industry and 1.22 million Yuan in aquaculture, and an increase of 530 Yuan in per capita income.

 

　　【Poverty alleviation publicity】  Combined with the Exhibition on China’s Poverty Reduction Achievements in the New Century, the promulgation and implementation of the “Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020)” and the holding of central poverty relief work and Inner Mongolia’s work conference on poverty alleviation and development, making full use of the main media, web portals, poverty relief briefings and bulletin boards, Inner Mongolia vigorously publicized the main achievements and basic experience of the autonomous region in poverty alleviation and development and the state’s major decisions and deployments on the national and Inner Mongolia’s anti-poverty work and timely announced the progress made in anti-poverty work, creating a good atmosphere for the all society to concern about the cause of poverty alleviation and laying a good basis for social forces to participate in the anti-poverty work.

　　【Information monitoring center of poverty-stricken areas】 On April 30, the Organization Committee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region approved (Nei Ji Bian Fa [2011] No. 70) the Poverty Alleviation and Development Training Center of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was renamed the Information Monitoring Center of Impoverished Areas of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Its main functions: To bear the responsibility of monitoring the region's poverty and anti-poverty work, relevant statistical data survey, acquisition and analysis; support relevant organs of the Poverty Alleviation Office of Inner Mongolia to carry out poverty-relief network and information construction and management in the autonomous region; organize trainings of cadres for poverty alleviation system and poor areas; and provide consulting services for poverty-relief projects, etc.                            

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(Cx�#t-kerning:0pt'>Through the implementation of the “bringing in and going out” policy, the state will renovate mechanisms and expand channels to enhance international anti-poverty communication. It will also learn international anti-poverty theory and practices, conduct cooperation on anti-poverty projects and share experience with other counties in a common effort to promote poverty reduction.

 

　　VIII. Policy Guarantee

32. Policy system

　　The state will improve its anti-poverty strategy and policy system, making it more effective in poor areas and for poor populations. The policy system will give play to the comprehensive benefits of special, industrial and social poverty alleviation efforts; integrate development-oriented poverty reduction projects with the social security system, and carry out impact assessment before initiating important policies and projects that might affect poverty reduction work.

33. Fiscal support

　　The central and local governments will increase their financial inputs to help impoverished people. The lion’s share of additional poverty reduction funding from the central budget will be used in contiguous areas with special difficulties. General transfer payments of central and provincial budget toward the poverty-stricken areas will be increased, as will the use of lottery proceeds for the purpose of poverty reduction. No tariff will be levied for state-approved domestic and foreign investment projects; foreign-funded competitive industry projects in Eastern and Central China; self-use equipment unable to be produced domestically; or technologies, accessories and spare parts imported alongside such equipment. If eligible, corporate donations to poor people can be deducted according to relevant tax regulations.

34. Favorable investment policies

　　The government will intensify input in terms of infrastructure construction, ecological environment improvement and welfare project development. It will build more village-level roads and develop agriculture comprehensively. It will also protect land resources and small river basins, control water and soil erosion, and develop hydropower in rural areas. The state-arranged projects for the consolidation of dangerous reservoirs, ecological construction, drinking water safety, supporting transformation in large irrigated areas and other public benefits projects will not receive supporting funds from government at or below county level nor government of contiguous areas with special difficulties in Western China. Governments at all levels should intensify investment support for contiguous areas with special difficulties.

35. Financial services

　　The state will continue to improve national anti-poverty discounted-interest loan policies in the following ways: actively promoting innovation of financial products and service modes in poverty-stricken areas, encouraging development of small-sum credit loans, and satisfying poor peoples’ need for funds to develop production. It will carry out anti-poverty loan projects for rehabilitation of the handicapped, enable coverage of poor areas by financial institutions and financial services, and guide civil loans to develop normally. It will also widen financing channels of poor areas and encourage financial institutions incorporated at county level in poor areas to make over 70% of their additional loans locally. The state will energetically develop insurance services in rural areas by urging insurance institutions to establish grass-roots service networks in poverty-stricken areas. It will also improve existing agriculture premium subsidy policies, inspire local communities to develop specialty agriculture insurance targeting specialty and leading industries of poor areas and strengthen the rural credit system.

36. Industrial support

　　The government will implement various industrial policies under the Western Development Project. Large-scale national projects, key projects and emerging industries should be arranged in favor of qualified poverty-stricken areas. Labor-intensive industries should be guided toward poor areas as well. Market development in poor areas should be reinforced. The state supports reasonable development and utilization of resources in poverty-stricken areas and will improve policies to support the development of specialty and competitive industries.

37. Land use

　　According to farmland protection and rural land utilization regulations, new land for construction should first be used to satisfy house-building requirements for those who are relocated from poor areas. The state will reasonably arrange land for construction in small towns and concentrated industrial parks, reclaim more land, favor eligible key counties in terms of project arrangement, and support poverty-stricken areas to exploit and utilize mineral resources in an eco-friendly and orderly way.

38. Ecological preservation

　　The state will continue to launch grain-to-green, pastureland-to-grassland, water and soil conservation, natural forest protection, and shelter forest construction projects as well as controlling desertification in Karst areas and other areas. An ecological compensation mechanism favoring poverty-stricken areas will be created and ecological compensation for key ecological function areas will be intensified. Protection of biodiversity in poor areas will be put high on the agenda.

39. Guarantee of talents

　　The government will organize personnel from the education, science, culture and health sectors and volunteers to work in poverty-stricken areas. It will also formulate policy encouraging institutions of higher learning, research institutions and medical institutions to nurture talents for poor areas. Government will guide college students to work or start business in poor areas, design incentive policies for officials who hold long-term posts in poor areas, and favor technicians of all sectors in terms of posts and job titles. It will show more care to officials who hold temporary posts in poor areas under targeted poverty reduction programs or the East-Help-West Program, making proper arrangements for their work and life so as to give full play to their advantages, engage with talents who start their own business in poverty reduction effort and give more training to officials and practical talents in poor areas.

40. Key groups on the development-oriented poverty reduction list

　　Having incorporated development-oriented poverty reduction program schemes for ethic minorities, women, children and the handicapped into its planning, the state will make unified arrangements for their implementation, give priority to their implementation when all conditions are equal and strengthen support for these groups. It will organize the implementation of a special program to revitalize border areas and enrich the local people and help smaller ethnic groups shake off poverty. It will promote women of poor households to participate in the activity of learning culture and technology, comparing performance and contribution, and will pay attention to those women and children who are left home in the countryside. The state will formulate and implement the Development-oriented Poverty Reduction Program for Disabled People in Rural Areas (2011-2020) to enhance their subsistence and development ability.

　　IX. Organizational Leadership

41. Reinforcing development-oriented poverty reduction responsibility

　　Adhering to the management system whereby the central government plans the project as a whole, provinces take overall responsibility and counties shoulder responsibility of implementation, the state will attach great importance to communities, villages and households in poverty alleviation and hold the leading officials of Party and government responsible for development-oriented poverty reduction endeavors. Party committees and governments at all levels should enhance awareness, intensify coordination functions of development-oriented leading groups, strengthen leadership and make unified arrangements. They should increase integration of province-county projects and resource arrangements to promote the accomplishment of various tasks. The government will further improve evaluation incentive mechanisms for Party and government officials as well as departments and key counties. Organizational departments at all levels should actively coordinate work in this regard. Provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) in Eastern areas will give intensified support to their poverty-stricken areas and poverty reduction project beneficiaries. The government will also encourage and support eligible areas to explore ways to settle poverty-related problems emerging during urbanization.

42. Strengthening construction of rural grass-roots organizations

　　The government will give full play to the impregnable role played by grass-roots Party organizations in poor areas and integrate development-oriented poverty reduction programing with grass-roots level organizational development. It will appoint strong leaders to villages and actively explore effective channels to develop collective economy and collective capital accumulation and find more ways to enrich rural residents. The state will encourage and select ideologically and morally advanced young officials, ex-servicemen, university graduates who are extremely capable and are willing to serve the people, to build leader teams, guide work groups and foster development in poor villages. Village officials who have done a great job in lifting poor villagers out of poverty will be given preference when applying for the civil service in accordance with relevant regulations and conditions.

43. Enhancing team building of poverty reduction institutions

　　Development-oriented leading groups at all levels should improve guidance for poverty reduction activities, study and design policy measures and coordinate the implementation of all tasks. Leading groups in provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) should report their work to the development-oriented poverty reduction program leading group of the State Council. The state will further strengthen anti-poverty institutions at all levels and their respective functions, enhance team building, improve working conditions and the quality of management. Deeply impoverished townships should have a special official responsible for development-oriented poverty alleviation. The training of county-level officials and above-county-level officials who work in anti-poverty departments should be included in the overall training plan of Party and government officials at all levels. Poverty reduction departments should enhance their ideological and moral standards, fight against corruption and improve efficiency and ability to execute.

44. Improving management of poverty reduction fund

　　Fiscal funds will be mainly earmarked to contiguous areas with special difficulties, key counties and poverty-stricken villages, to foster specialty and competitive industries, improve development capacity of poor people and their basic production and living condition, and to increase direct funding for households. Mechanism of direct funding for households will be innovated and multiple ways will be used to ensure effective support for the needy. Infrastructure construction projects that use poverty reduction funding should make sure that poor people benefit first. Anti-poverty projects by industries should be directed to lift poor households out of poverty. A public announcement system for poverty reduction funding will be promulgated, audit and monitoring functions will be strengthened, and monitoring channels will be widened to crack down embezzlement and corruption.

45. Enhancing anti-poverty research and publicity

　　The state will earnestly improve theory and policy research on anti-poverty issues, summarize anti-poverty practices systematically, and gradually develop increasingly sophisticated theory and policy with Chinese characteristics. It will conduct surveys to improve decision-making and implementation ability, include poverty reduction in basic education for civilians about national conditions, in official training and civil servants education and in school education. The government will continue publicizing poverty alleviation projects and informing people of policies, achievements, experiences and typical examples in this regard so as to create a favorable environment for anti-poverty activities. Meanwhile, it will also showcase to the international community our efforts and accomplishments in guaranteeing people’s right to live and develop.

46. Reinforcing statistics collection and monitoring of poverty reduction work

　　The state will establish a development-oriented poverty reduction program information system and monitor contiguous areas with special difficulties. It will improve its statistics and monitoring system; regularize data collection, collation, feedback and announcement; and make information on the current poverty  situation and trends known in a timely and objective way, so as to provide basis for scientific decision-making.

47. Enhancing building of the legal system

　　The government will accelerate lawmaking processes in order to provide a legal basis for poverty reduction.

48. Provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities that directly under the central government) shall design their respective implementation approaches in accordance with this outline.

49. The Leading Group Office of Poverty Reduction and Development of the State Council is responsible for coordinating and organizing implementation of this outline.