Present Situation, Problems and Countermeasures of Targeted Poverty Alleviation in Shaxi Township of Lichuan City

Sijia CHENG, Shuhui SHAO

College of Management and Economics, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434023, China

Abstract Poverty is a major factor restricting the economic and social development of all countries in the world. Eliminating poverty and improving people’s livelihood have always been the long-cherished goals of mankind. This paper elaborated the targeted poverty alleviation work in Shaxi Township of Lichuan City mainly from three aspects: targeted identification, targeted assistance, and targeted exit. Besides, it analyzed the problems existing in the practice of targeted poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township, and put forward corresponding countermeasures and recommendations.

Key words Targeted poverty alleviation, Problems, Countermeasures

1 Introduction

Economic development can eliminate poverty. Although China has made great achievements in the poverty alleviation and development, there are still a few areas where it is difficult for the poverty-stricken people in rural areas to get rid of poverty. For a long time, China’s poverty alleviation targeting mechanism has always been "regional targeting", adopting an extensive flooded poverty alleviation model, focusing on poverty-stricken areas, counties, and villages, but rarely implementing the policy to household and individual person. Although this targeting mechanism has alleviated and eliminated part of the poverty, this extensive poverty alleviation model has also made some people in the poverty alleviation area get richer, and some people are getting poorer and poorer, and the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming increasingly significant. In November 2013, General Secretary Xi Jinping requested that poverty alleviation should be pragmatic, tailored to local conditions, implement targeted poverty alleviation, and avoid shouting slogans, and for the first time proposed the concept of targeted poverty alleviation. During his inspection in Guizhou in June 2015, Xi Jinping put forward the "six targeted measures", namely, targeted identification, project arrangement, fund, measures, cadres, and effect of poverty alleviation. Targeted poverty alleviation is a symmetry of extensive poverty alleviation. It mainly includes three levels of connotation: targeted identification, targeted assistance, and targeted management. The main purpose is to make poverty alleviation truly reach the grass roots, without giving up a household or losing one person.

Shaxi Township is located in the south of Lichuan City, Enshi Prefecture, Hubei Province. It is a representative poverty-stricken township in Lichuan City. At present, targeted poverty alleviation work is being carried out in the township in an orderly manner and has made great achievements. On the basis of this, we studied the targeted poverty alleviation work in Shaxi Township of Lichuan County.

2 Present situation of targeted poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township of Lichuan City

Located in the south of Lichuan City, Enshi Prefecture of Hubei Province, Shaxi Township is a representative poverty-stricken township. It has 2 571.07 ha of cultivated land and is 86 km away from Lichuan City. In 2019, the whole township administers 9 villages including Huajian, Ankan, Xinzhuang, Bayin, Dashaxi, Yuhe, Tianwangpo, Shimen and Hehua. There are a total of 131 villager groups, 5 732 households with 17 925 people, and there are many ethnic minorities, mainly Tujia and Miao nationalities, the agricultural population is 5 509 households with 16 645 people, accounting for 92.86% of the total population. The total income of the township in 2019 was 235.66 million yuan.

2.1 Present situation of targeted identification of poverty alleviation objects in Shaxi TownshipIn response to the national call for "targeted poverty alleviation", in accordance with the requirements of relevant policy documents, targeted poverty alleviation work has been carried out in Shaxi Township of Lichuan City. The targeted identification of the poor population in Shaxi Township is mainly based on the relevant requirements of theWorkPlanfortheEstablishmentofPovertyAlleviationObjectsinLichuanCity,EnshiPrefectureissued by the Lichuan Municipal People’s Government Office of Enshi Prefecture. The identification standard is mainly based on the national poverty line of 2 736 yuan in net income of farmers in 2013, mainly based on the income of poor households, comprehensive housing, health and overall living conditions, and combined with theDistributionStandardsforPoorTownships(Towns),PoorVillages,andPoorPopulationinLichuanCity,EnshiPrefecture, to make targeted identification of poverty-stricken households and make registration for them.

2.2 Present situation of targeted assistance of poverty alleviation objects in Shaxi TownshipTargeted assistance is based on the targeted identification of poverty objects, conducting four-party consultations and formulating different poverty alleviation measures to provide the real needs of poor households. What it has to solve is "who will provide assistance" and "how to provide assistance".

2.2.1Who will provide assistance. In accordance with the spirit of relevant documents of Enshi Prefecture and Lichuan City, Shaxi Township implemented the poverty alleviation strategy, and achieved full coverage of the 9 villages in Shaxi Township. The prefecture, city, and county dispatched 67 poverty alleviation workers to 9 villages. Each village was provided with resident assistance, and at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the distribution of staff in the filed and registered poor villages and non-registered poor villages is reasonable, with no less than 10 and 5 people.

2.2.2How to provide assistance. The Shaxi Township Government actively responded to the call of Lichuan City, Enshi Prefecture for targeted policy implementation, actively seeking poverty alleviation projects and funds for the township, and effectively connecting with the higher-level poverty alleviation departments and various subcontracting organizations. In 2019, the Shaxi Township Government’s poverty alleviation project funds were integrated to 34.875 million yuan. According to the actual needs of the villages in Shaxi Township, the project funds were used for the following constructions. The details are as follows:

Public infrastructure construction: in order to create a "beautiful countryside", Shaxi Township has built 9 village-level entertainment and cultural venues, 8 village-level office activity rooms, 9 village-level libraries, and 7 village-level standardized clinics; the roads from 9 villages to villages in the township are fully hardened, a total of 120.5 km, the hardening of entrance roads reached 22 199 m2, and the hardening of roads in the village reached 13 945 m2, and all these have been fully completed; 9 villages in the township have built reservoirs, safe drinking water has been connected; 5 new village schools and teaching points have been built.

Industrial poverty alleviation development: Shaxi Township planted 265.9 ha of flue-cured tobacco, the tobacco leaf yield reached 502 350 kg, and income of tobacco farmers reached 19.239 million yuan; the distribution of tea seedlings for new planting and transformation of tea gardens reached 16.6 ha; potato planting area reached 638.3 ha, and potato output reached 1 568 t. The output value was 2.89 million yuan; it distributed 23 655 piglets, 135 calves, and 191 125 chicken seedlings, the annual income of animal husbandry in the township reached 102.74 million yuan.

Intellectual poverty alleviation development: in accordance with the actual situation of Shaxi Township residents’ planting and breeding, Shaxi Township has organized propaganda on flue-cured tobacco planting, pepper planting management, livestock breeding technology,etc., and provided training for about 1 200 people. Through government financial subsidies and self-raised funds, the Shaxi Township Government and the Education Bureau donate money and materials to schools and teaching sites that are in difficulty, dispatch rural volunteer teachers to consolidate teachers, exempt tuition and miscellaneous fees, and provide living allowances to students from poor families. At the same time, for students who are unable to realize their college dreams due to family difficulties, Shaxi Township helped all school-age students in Shaxi Township to go to school through the "Raindrop Program" and other policy assistance and gathering social assistance forces.

2.3 Present situation of targeted exit of poverty alleviation objects in Shaxi Township

2.3.1Exit of poverty-stricken people. The goal of targeted poverty alleviation is for targeted exit of poverty-stricken people. Focusing on the goal of "two no worries and three guarantees" of the state, and following the relevant poverty population exit standards and assessment requirements in Enshi Prefecture and Lichuan City, Shaxi Township carried out targeted exit work for the poverty-stricken people in accordance with strict exit procedures and requirements.

2.3.2Exit of poverty-stricken villages. Xinzhuang Village, Dashaxi Village, and Bayin Village are three registered poor villages in Shaxi Township. According to strict assessment standards and standardized basic operating procedures, these three villages in Shaxi Township were evaluated item by item. There were 97 points in Xinzhuang Village, 99 points in Dashaxi Village, and 98 points in Bayin Village. After review by county-level departments, an announcement was made and the exit was approved and reported to Lichuan City for record.

3 Problems of targeted poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township of Lichuan City

3.1 Not targeted identification of poverty objectsCombining with the current situation of targeted identification in Shaxi Township, there were "missing evaluations" and "wrong evaluations" in the work of registration and review. The number of unqualified households and the number of people were 76 households with 235 people, respectively. The re-identification of the number of poor households and the number of people was 64 households with 240 people, which directly reflects that the township’s identification of poverty objects is not targeted enough. In Shaxi Township, the registration of poverty-stricken people was based on the registered population, and those who are from agricultural population to non-agricultural population and illegal households were not included in the scope of registration.

Next, the top-down poverty alleviation indicators and "one size fits all" identification standards have led to partial unfairness. In the process of identifying poor households, it is mainly based on whether the income reaches the poverty line stipulated by the state as the measurement standard. However, the statistical errors in actual operation have led to partial unfairness.

3.2 Demand "exclusion" in targeted assistanceThe key to targeted assistance is to implement policies tailored to local conditions and individual household. Through interviews and field surveys with some poor households, we found that there is a phenomenon of "exclusion" in demand during the assistance process.

Mr. Li, 49 years old, is a registered poor person in Huaqian Village. In the interview, he said: "I have two children in my family and both are in college. The family consumption is large, mywife takes care of her mother at home and plants some crops. I work outside all year round, and my annual income is not enough for the tuition and living expenses of the two children. The government policy is good. It will give us help and build a resettlement house for my family. However, our current house can still live in, and it can be rebuilt in a few years. I don’t need to resettle the house. I hope the government can help my two children finish their studies! " From this interview case, it can be found that Li’s family was mainly impoverished due to illness and education, but the Shaxi Township Government just gave him a resettlement house.

There are quite a few similar situations in Shaxi Township. These situations are sufficient to illustrate the existence of "exclusion" in the poverty alleviation process in Shaxi Township. Some poor households lack capital and technology, and some poor households lack production materials. However, due to the lack of policy flexibility, the assistance measures that some poor households receive often do not match their needs.

3.3 Single poverty alleviation model and disconnection with the industryCombined with the current situation of targeted assistance, it can be found that Shaxi Township’s industrial poverty alleviation dominates the assistance work. In 2019, the planting industry realized an income of 32.017 7 million yuan, of which 16.6 ha of tea gardens were newly planted and transformed. The animal husbandry developed well, accounting for 41.23% of the total income in 2019. The breeding cycle of ecological cattle was long and it is difficult to realize income in the short term. In the ecological construction, Shaxi Township is currently vigorously advocating the policy of returning farmland to forests and implementing the standard of 7 500 yuan/ha for each kind of tree, which also increases the overall income of farmers.

However, the township’s poverty alleviation model is relatively simple. It only supports and invests in traditional industries. The government has not done a good job in guiding and demonstrating in e-commerce poverty alleviation, technological poverty alleviation, and development of rural tourism resources. The survey indicates that, excluding migrant workers, more than 90% of farmers do not understand the market, and the market information they obtain is asymmetrical, they do not understand modern agricultural technology, they only conduct planting and breeding, so the low agricultural output rate leads to lower agricultural income; the sales model is traditional. Under the background of "Internet+", most farmers do not understand network technology and network marketing of agricultural products. Less than 5% of farmers sell through marketing methods such as WeChat. Through the assistance phenomenon, it can be found that the Shaxi Township Government’s industrial assistance is mainly concentrated in the primary industry, and there is very little investment in poverty alleviation projects and capital for the secondary and tertiary industries, showing that the industrial disconnection is serious.

3.4 Serious thought of "depending on poverty alleviation funds" and weak awareness of active poverty alleviationCombined with household surveys and interviews with some poor households in Shaxi Township, we found some problems. Some farmers have formed the mentality of "that is the fund of the state, why I not take". Therefore, during investigating and understanding the basic situation of their families and their income and expenditure, many farmers conceal the truth and falsely report their income, expenditure and output. This situation has caused a lot of trouble to the poverty alleviation cadres, and the actual situation is inconsistent with the situation described by the poor households. Such thought of "depending on the poverty alleviation funds" indicates that some poor households are weak in actively getting rid of poverty. These bring about some troubles to the poverty alleviation work in Shaxi Township.

4 Countermeasures for poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township of Lichuan City

4.1 Improving the household registration system and making innovation in the identification standardsIn order to well implement the targeted poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township, first, it is necessary to ensure the accuracy of work, do not forget one household and do not leave an individual. In the process of targeted identification, the formulation of poverty alleviation policies should be effectively connected with the household registration system, and the household registration system should be improved. For those from urban registered permanent residents changed from Shaxi Township’s agricultural registered permanent residence and those unregistered households, it is necessary to make clear the basic situation of their families. They cannot be excluded from the objects of registered poor households at the policy level. In addition, as for the identification standards of poor households, it is necessary to establish a multi-dimensional identification measurement standard, based on the family’s annual net income per capita, and comprehensive consideration of factors such as housing, education expenditure, serious illness expenditure, and labor, so that Shaxi Township’s identification of poor households is more targeted.

4.2 Analyzing the poverty reasons and providing classified assistanceThe reasons for poverty are different, and the needs for assistance are also different. In the process of targeted assistance, the Shaxi Township Government needs to be highly targeted, combined with the actual needs of farmers, and insist on implementing policies for each individual and each household and implementing different policies in accordance with different poverty reasons. For poverty stricken population, due to lack of natural resources and weak public foundations, it is necessary to provide corresponding production materials (saplings, pig breeding,etc.). Besides, the construction of public foundations such as roads in the region should be increased to create favorable external conditions for poor farmers. For those farmers who are poor due to serious illness or education, the reimbursement ratio for serious illness medical expenses should be increased, and at the same time, medical and education subsidies should be increased. For poor households who lack funds and want to develop industries, the government should strengthen financial support for them, provide them financial support, and stimulate their endogenous motivation for starting undertaking. In summary, the Shaxi Township Government should make as many different poverty alleviation strategies as possible for different objects of poverty alleviation.

4.3 Making innovation in poverty alleviation models, to promote the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industriesIn the practice of targeted poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township, the assistance measures mostly focus on traditional animal husbandry and planting, mainly including flue-cured tobacco, peppers, potatoes,etc. The main income is animal husbandry and it has reached 41.23% of the total economic income of the township. For emerging industries such as leisure and sightseeing agriculture, processing industry, and rural tourism, the government’s financial funds and project resource support in this regard are almost vacant, and the support is very inadequate. Although the animal husbandry industry in Shaxi Township accounts for a large proportion, there are currently no enterprises related to animal husbandry processing and sales in the township. Farmers are facing the problems of a "high cost and low income", and they also face certain market risks. Therefore, it is very necessary to train leading enterprises, form a unified sales channel, and create a model of "company+base (farmers)" and "cooperative+base (farmers)". Based on the basic situation of targeted assistance in Shaxi Township, it can be found that making innovation in poverty alleviation models and promoting the development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries are critical to promoting targeted poverty alleviation in Shaxi Township.

4.4 Paying attention to helping poor people to increase confidence to lift them out of poverty in the mindCompared with material poverty, spiritual poverty is more terrifying. Some poor households have the thought of "depending on poverty alleviation funds" and are weak in active getting rid of poverty. In this situation, particular attention will be paid to helping people increase confidence in their own ability, to lift them out of poverty and see that they can access the education they need to do so.

In the process of poverty alleviation, it is necessary to provide positive incentives. For example, in 2014, Leshan City in Sichuan Province launched a program called "Labor Income Reward Program" for poor households. The novelty of this program is to replace subsidies with rewards. For low-income families, the higher labor income they obtain, the more rewards they will receive. This method can effectively encourage poor households to proactively increase their income through labor, and enhance the village’s enthusiasm for active poverty alleviation. In terms of spiritual poverty alleviation, these are worth learning for the Shaxi Township Government, so as to pull out the roots of poverty from the source.