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Y. Li
2. Growing oil-yielding peony can bring high economic benefits and
contribute to targeted poverty alleviation and development of an ecological
civilization
Land is the most important means of production for farmers, and the primary sector
centred on crop farming is where poverty alleviation efforts pay off the most. Growing
plants that adapt to the natural conditions of poverty-stricken areas, align with their
productivity and technological levels, and deliver high economic and ecological
benefits is of great significance to advance the development-oriented poverty alleviation endeavour, implement the targeted poverty alleviation strategy, and realize the
goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.
First, compared with conventional crops, oil-yielding peony has higher economic
value and can increase the income of farmers and help poverty-stricken areas get
out of poverty. To increase the income of farmers is a major task of the poverty
alleviation initiative and holds key to the building of a moderately prosperous society
in all respects. China is a big agricultural country with a large population. Due to the
longstanding low prices of agricultural products and poor economic benefits, farmers’
income and rural development have been greatly restricted. Mountains, sandy land,
and species resources, especially woody oil plants, are advantageous resources in
many poverty-stricken areas, presenting great potential for wealth and prosperity.
Growing oil-yielding peony can increase farmers’ annual income by RMB 4000 per
mu, providing an efficient and targeted solution for poverty alleviation. Therefore,
it is instrumental in improving the lives of people in old revolutionary areas, areas
with large ethnic minority populations, border areas, and poverty-stricken areas,
addressing the most immediate and realistic issue of poverty that the people are most
concerned about, and speeding up the economic and social development of povertystricken areas. Furthermore, it can help promote ethnic unity, maintain social stability,
and ultimately build a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Second, with high resistance to stress, oil-yielding peony can grow in a wide
range of conditions, suitable for large-scale planting in poverty-stricken areas. Most
of poverty-stricken areas are mountainous, hilly, or plateau areas, where cultivated
land is not so fertile and production and living conditions are harsh due to frequent
droughts and floods and serious desertification and soil erosion. Because of the
unfavourable climate and geographical conditions, agricultural outputs are generally
low and unstable in those regions. Oil-yielding peony can be planted on a large scale
in poverty-stricken areas without affecting crop production, meeting the requirement
of “observing the red line for ecological conservation and ensuring no decrease in
the area of cultivated land” in the Guidelines of the CPC Central Committee and the
State Council on Accelerating Ecological Civilization.
Finally, oil-yielding peony is easy to manage, which is in alignment with productivity and technological levels in rural areas. Nowadays, a large number of young
and middle-aged rural people go to the cities to work as wage earners, while the
elderly, women, and children left behind, who are incapable of hard manual labour,
have to “sow the seeds, spread the fertilizer, and leave it to luck.” This to a large
extent affects their levels of income. As a perennial shrub, oil-yielding peony only
Y. Li
2. Growing oil-yielding peony can bring high economic benefits and
contribute to targeted poverty alleviation and development of an ecological
civilization
Land is the most important means of production for farmers, and the primary sector
centred on crop farming is where poverty alleviation efforts pay off the most. Growing
plants that adapt to the natural conditions of poverty-stricken areas, align with their
productivity and technological levels, and deliver high economic and ecological
benefits is of great significance to advance the development-oriented poverty alleviation endeavour, implement the targeted poverty alleviation strategy, and realize the
goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.
First, compared with conventional crops, oil-yielding peony has higher economic
value and can increase the income of farmers and help poverty-stricken areas get
out of poverty. To increase the income of farmers is a major task of the poverty
alleviation initiative and holds key to the building of a moderately prosperous society
in all respects. China is a big agricultural country with a large population. Due to the
longstanding low prices of agricultural products and poor economic benefits, farmers’
income and rural development have been greatly restricted. Mountains, sandy land,
and species resources, especially woody oil plants, are advantageous resources in
many poverty-stricken areas, presenting great potential for wealth and prosperity.
Growing oil-yielding peony can increase farmers’ annual income by RMB 4000 per
mu, providing an efficient and targeted solution for poverty alleviation. Therefore,
it is instrumental in improving the lives of people in old revolutionary areas, areas
with large ethnic minority populations, border areas, and poverty-stricken areas,
addressing the most immediate and realistic issue of poverty that the people are most
concerned about, and speeding up the economic and social development of povertystricken areas. Furthermore, it can help promote ethnic unity, maintain social stability,
and ultimately build a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Second, with high resistance to stress, oil-yielding peony can grow in a wide
range of conditions, suitable for large-scale planting in poverty-stricken areas. Most
of poverty-stricken areas are mountainous, hilly, or plateau areas, where cultivated
land is not so fertile and production and living conditions are harsh due to frequent
droughts and floods and serious desertification and soil erosion. Because of the
unfavourable climate and geographical conditions, agricultural outputs are generally
low and unstable in those regions. Oil-yielding peony can be planted on a large scale
in poverty-stricken areas without affecting crop production, meeting the requirement
of “observing the red line for ecological conservation and ensuring no decrease in
the area of cultivated land” in the Guidelines of the CPC Central Committee and the
State Council on Accelerating Ecological Civilization.
Finally, oil-yielding peony is easy to manage, which is in alignment with productivity and technological levels in rural areas. Nowadays, a large number of young
and middle-aged rural people go to the cities to work as wage earners, while the
elderly, women, and children left behind, who are incapable of hard manual labour,
have to “sow the seeds, spread the fertilizer, and leave it to luck.” This to a large
extent affects their levels of income. As a perennial shrub, oil-yielding peony only