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Y. Li
On December 16, 2015, the eighteenth day after the conclusion of the Central
Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development, I submitted a report explaining
the role of the oil-yielding peony industry in targeted poverty alleviation to General
Secretary Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and then Vice Premier Wang Yang. General
Secretary Xi Jinping marked up the report after reading it, and the other two leaders
gave instructions, requiring relevant departments to put forth practical proposals.
Later, the Ministry of Finance and the State Forestry Administration handed in a
joint proposal to the leadership. Then Vice Premier Wang Yang made comments on
the proposal, and General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ticked it
off. The proposal calls for support for the development of the woody oil industry
including peony seed oil by developing relevant plans, carrying out pilot programs
in some regions, giving preference in the grain-for-green program, supporting basic
research, and revising fund management measures. In January 2019, twenty-one
academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of
Engineering jointly made suggestions to General Secretary Xi Jinping that the oilyielding peony industry should be boosted on a national scale. By the end of 2018,
the growing area of oil-yielding peony in China reached nearly 10 million mu, and
there were more than 500 peony seed oil growing and processing enterprises above
certain size and over 300,000 people working in the industry chain from seedling
growing, planting, and management to processing and sales. The oil-yielding peony
industry has started to flourish in more regions where conditions are suitable, the
nursery and growing area has increased substantially, and the processing industries
of peony seed oil and other relevant products have developed rapidly.
3 Significance of Developing the Oil-Yielding Peony
Industry
1. Growing oil-yielding peony has great ecological value and can help improve
the environment
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has carried out
numerous environmental protection activities such as large-scale forestation, water
conservancy, soil and water conservation, and prevention and control of desertification and pollution and built a large number of ecological conservation and environmental protection facilities. These efforts have played a significant role in mitigating
natural disasters, guaranteeing rapid and sustained economic growth, and protecting
the security of people’s lives and properties. For various natural and human reasons,
however, there is still not much to rejoice about the environment; for example, soil
erosion and desertification remain severe, and the pressure to cut emissions is rising.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has reiterated that we should “protect our natural
environment in the same way we would protect our own wellbeing” and that by
Y. Li
On December 16, 2015, the eighteenth day after the conclusion of the Central
Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development, I submitted a report explaining
the role of the oil-yielding peony industry in targeted poverty alleviation to General
Secretary Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and then Vice Premier Wang Yang. General
Secretary Xi Jinping marked up the report after reading it, and the other two leaders
gave instructions, requiring relevant departments to put forth practical proposals.
Later, the Ministry of Finance and the State Forestry Administration handed in a
joint proposal to the leadership. Then Vice Premier Wang Yang made comments on
the proposal, and General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ticked it
off. The proposal calls for support for the development of the woody oil industry
including peony seed oil by developing relevant plans, carrying out pilot programs
in some regions, giving preference in the grain-for-green program, supporting basic
research, and revising fund management measures. In January 2019, twenty-one
academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of
Engineering jointly made suggestions to General Secretary Xi Jinping that the oilyielding peony industry should be boosted on a national scale. By the end of 2018,
the growing area of oil-yielding peony in China reached nearly 10 million mu, and
there were more than 500 peony seed oil growing and processing enterprises above
certain size and over 300,000 people working in the industry chain from seedling
growing, planting, and management to processing and sales. The oil-yielding peony
industry has started to flourish in more regions where conditions are suitable, the
nursery and growing area has increased substantially, and the processing industries
of peony seed oil and other relevant products have developed rapidly.
3 Significance of Developing the Oil-Yielding Peony
Industry
1. Growing oil-yielding peony has great ecological value and can help improve
the environment
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has carried out
numerous environmental protection activities such as large-scale forestation, water
conservancy, soil and water conservation, and prevention and control of desertification and pollution and built a large number of ecological conservation and environmental protection facilities. These efforts have played a significant role in mitigating
natural disasters, guaranteeing rapid and sustained economic growth, and protecting
the security of people’s lives and properties. For various natural and human reasons,
however, there is still not much to rejoice about the environment; for example, soil
erosion and desertification remain severe, and the pressure to cut emissions is rising.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has reiterated that we should “protect our natural
environment in the same way we would protect our own wellbeing” and that by