Abstract 

To support the Chinese government's national poverty program and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, World Food Programme (WFP) funded the Smallholder Farmer Kiwi Fruit Value Chain Project in the north of Meishan Town, Jinzhai County, Anhui Province in China. The project aims to establish a pro-poor, benefit-sharing mechanism that connects the smallholders to each other and the market. This will develop kiwi fruit production and improve smallholders' access to public goods and services to increase their incomes. With the support of the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Anhui Province, the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Jinzhai County implemented the project from June 2018. Following the "farmer cooperative + low-income household" model, WFP established a farmer cooperative to integrate 150 registered poor households of 511 people into the kiwi fruit value chain project. People can earn dividends by joining the cooperative and increase incomes by working in the orchard and transferring land. It has achieved phased results and acted as demonstration that provides evidence-based lessons and experience for poverty reduction and income growth by connecting small farmers to the market. 

Background 

Jinzhai County covers an area of 487,800 mu (32,520 hectares) arable land and 4.4 million mu (493,333 hectares) forest. Its forest coverage rate reaches 74.1 percent. The wild kiwi fruit planting area covers an area of more than 200,000 mu (13,333 hectares). The annual kiwi fruit output is about 10,000 tons. In 2014, "Jinzhai Kiwi fruit" obtained the national geographical indication trademark. With these advantages, Kiwifruit, due to its high economic return, was identified by the local government as a key industry and income source for poverty alleviation. However, integrating smallholder farmers into the kiwi fruit value chain still faces many challenges.

Located in the hinterland of the Dabie Mountains, Jinzhai County suffers from extreme poverty. In 2017, Jinzhai still had 84,300 impoverished people from 29,000 families and it was a tough task for them to get rid of poverty. The northern part of Meishan Town administers 51 villager groups with a total of 6,436 farmers. There are 460 poor households of 1,098 people, including 158 left-behind children and 425 women. They account for 53 percent of the poor population. 

Without updated concepts and modern education, local farmers don't have professional skills and development capacity to increase income, overcome poverty and achieve prosperity. 

Inadequate infrastructure restricts the economic and social development in the area. Due to the poor natural and geographical conditions, the infrastructure of water, electricity, roads and communications is backward, which causes problems for people's daily life. 

The town doesn't have industrialized agricultural operations. It is urgent to extend its industrial chain and build brands of local agricultural products. 

There is a large funding gap for Jinzhai to develop kiwi fruit industry. The high-risk industry needs continuous investment. Smallholder farmers lack early-stage production input and technical support, and it is difficult for them to participate in the kiwi fruit industry chain and obtain benefits from it.

Measures 

The Smallholder Farmer Kiwi Fruit Value Chain Project aims to improve the livelihoods of 150 poor smallholder farmer households in Jinzhai County, of which 39 percent are women, by strengthening their capacity for kiwi fruit cultivation, production, and marketing. The key practices are as follows:

The office of Smallholder Farmer Kiwi Fruit Value Chain Project was established to carry out the project according to the overall plan and annual plans. In June 2018, five competent officials from the Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Jinzhai County and the government of Meishan Town were selected and they are responsible for the project implementation, financial management, and project monitoring and evaluation.

The project established a Jinzhai Tianyuan Kiwi Planting Cooperative in 2019 with 150 poor households all as cooperative members. They joined the cooperative with 2 mu (0.13 hectare) land as shares respectively. The cooperative undertook technical guidance and training, coordinated agricultural activities, and elected a supervisory board of eight members of poor households, of which six were women. Moreover, the cooperative was integrated into the standardized management of Jinzhai County Kiwi Consortium and adopted the "consortium-farmer cooperative-impoverished household" model. Standardized control was implemented on seeds, production processes, and marketing, and links were developed with e-commerce platforms.

An interest linkage mechanism is established. Per mu (0.07 hectare) kiwi land needs an investment of 30,000 yuan (US$442.18) in the first three years: Every poor household pays 1,000 yuan (US$147.06) to the farmer cooperative; WFP provides 10,000 yuan (US$1,470,59); the large-scale planting household (Sun Bin) in the cooperative contributes 10,000 yuan (US$1,470.59); local government provides supporting funds of 9,000 yuan (US$1,323.53). Poor households and the large-scale planting household hold 50 percent of the shares respectively. At present, the WFP has invested 4.30 million yuan (US$632,750); Jinzhai County has provided 3.54 million yuan (US$520,588) supporting funds; Sun Bin has invested 2.836 million yuan (US$417,059), and 150 targeted households have invested 300,000 yuan (US$44,118) in the cooperative.

A demonstration orchard of 300 mu (20 hectares) was established through land transfer in 2019. The orchard uses organic fertilisers, builds ridges and digs ditches in a scientific way to improve the infrastructure and ecological environment of the production base and enhance its ability to resist natural disasters. Moreover, the demonstration orchard serves as a training base where training and on-site demonstration is provided to more than 300 farmer participants on kiwi production, storage, disease control, and e-commerce. Particular efforts were made to empower women. Because left-behind women take responsibility for production and need to take care of their families, special consideration is given to mothers allowing them to balance the housework and training access. The office also cooperated with related organizations to enhance women's awareness and ability to participate in public affairs. For example, the project collaborated closely with Jinzhai County Women Federation to organize women skill competitions and tournaments in different stages of kiwi cultivation. These kinds of initiatives greatly improved women’s self-recognition and family status by strengthening their development capacity. 

The project creates a favorable market environment for agricultural development and improves the industrial value chain. First, an innovative traceability system was introduced to the project to track and trace the growth life of the kiwi fruits which improved market access for kiwi farmers. Second, the project supports poor households to cooperate with rural e-commerce platforms to conduct market research, and collecting market information and consumer feedback to adjust marketing strategies. Third, Jinzhai held some forums on kiwi development. Enhanced industrial multilateral cooperation and exchanges resulted not only in the introduction of advanced technologies and concepts, but also in new collaborations with other provinces in resource sharing. Fourth, the project bought agricultural insurances for kiwi planting households and helped them to cope with risks. 

Outcomes 

The project has achieved remarkable results in poverty alleviation, and sustainable development for local people, the economy and environment.

Economic benefits: The orchard provides job opportunities for 48 local smallholder farmers generating additional income of 1,800 yuan (US$264.71) per month on average. Farmers also earn land rental fee at 600 yuan (US$88.24) every year from land transfer. Moreover, these households received an annual bonus starting from 2020, in addition to other income sources including the land transfer fee and remuneration from working on the kiwi planting base. In the full bearing period, the kiwi fruit yield can reach 1,000 kilograms per mu (0.07 hectare). Calculated at a price of 15 yuan (US$2.21) per kilogram, the yield can generate a net income of 10,000 yuan (US$ 1,470.59) per mu. Every poor household receives about 10,000 yuan  (US$ 1,470.59) in dividends with two mu (0.13 hectare) planting land, which will last for more than 20 years.  

Social benefits: The development of the kiwi fruit industry chain promotes the transfer of labor force in the project area, provides job opportunities to increase income for the poor households in Meishan Town and promotes the development of the farmer cooperative. Furthermore, the management of the farmer cooperative requires female representation to give decision-making power to women. Thus, alongside training and the development of skills, women are supported in taking a bigger role in local organizations and gain greater control over their lives and an enhanced voice in their communities and households. 

Environmental benefits: The project plays an important role in controlling soil erosion in the project area and the surrounding areas. The microclimate in the field has been improved and the ability of disaster reduction and prevention in the production area is enhanced.

Lessons learned

The Smallholder Farmer Kiwi Fruit Value Chain Project has set a good example of poverty alleviation by tapping into local featured resources, providing planting training, improving and optimizing traditional sales models and empowering women. It offers the following lessons: 

Coordination work is very important for the success of the project. The Smallholder Farmer Kiwi Fruit Value Chain Project established an office to take comprehensive measures to implement the project, manage funds and monitor results in an orderly manner.  

Strong government support is an important guarantee for the project progress. The project has been highly valued by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Anhui Province, the Party Committee and Government of Jinzhai County, and the Party Committee and Government of Meishan Town, which guarantees the implementation of the project.

It is the key to motivate the poor households to participate in the project. Over the past three years, more than 2,600 people have attended kiwi planting training classes and many poor households are integrated into the project. In particular, the women-targeted training improves their skills and their role in family and public affairs. 

Increasing incomes for poor households is the primary task. Since the project was carried out in 2018, the income of 150 poor households has achieved a sustainable growth in the pro-poor chain and their life has been improved. The kiwi fruit value chain paves a way for impoverished people to get rid of poverty and achieve prosperity. Farmers become more confident in planting kiwi fruits. 

True story 

Pei Zhengying comes from a poverty-stricken family and her two daughters have been married. Pei's husband suffers from chronic diseases and she has to do some odd jobs to make a living and support the family. Excluding the government subsidies, Pei Zhengying only earned 500 yuan (US$73.53) per month. When the Smallholder Farmer Kiwi Fruit Value Chain Project was launched in Meishan Town, Pei Zhengying got a job in the orchard with an annual income of more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,941.18). In 2018, her family shook off poverty. Pei Zhengying actively participated in the training organized by the cooperative. She won many awards and once was personally awarded by Qu Sixi, WFP China County Director and Representative. Pei's hard work and optimistic attitude towards life in the cooperative won people's support and she was selected as member of the supervisory board in the cooperative and the Women Representative Committee.

For more information, please contact WFP China COE (wfpcn.coe@wfp.org)