Sun Yat-Sen University Helps Alleviate Poverty Through Scientific Research

Guangzhou, June 9th, 2010, Yangcheng Evening News:Since2009 Guangdong has been carrying out the "aids accessible to each household and responsibility assigned to each individual” poverty relief policy, each supporting deficient villages unit showing their special prowess and playing expertise within their fields to help the poor regions find their way out. Qinkou village in Heyuan has received a special treat ever since. Once it received the offer, experts then came to diagnose its general situation. When discussing which crop was the best choice to plant in the village, they even provided climate, soil and hydrological data to support their suggestions. In this way, its brother unit, Sun Yat-Sen University, has played the particular advantage, by adopting the latest scientific achievements to equip the development in backward area, and it has achieved a great result.

Researchers have found that Qinkou village has a large area of mountain and few field. Besides, it is far away from downtown centre. Therefore, it's not practical to rid villagers from poverty by developing industry and the best way is to develop plantation. Researchers carried out a test on the soil and detected the wind direction, humidity, water source, sunlight and cleanliness of air etc. They also consulted the local villagers before they came to the conclusion that it's suitable for Qinkou village to plant red meat honey pomelo and lucid ganoderma. And Qinkou village decided to put emphasis on planting both of them.

Earlier this year, SYSU had raised funds to buy 13016 red meat honey pomelo seedlings, and distributed them to poor households with labour. Till now, poor households in Qinkou village hhave planted nearly 250 acres red meat honey pomelo with a vigorous growing. An 868 -square meter shelter has been built for officinal lucid ganoderma during the first period of the project. These new industries in Qinkou village have won a great support from the School of Life Sciences of SYSU. Relevant experts were sent there to guide the villagers on the plantation of red meat honey pomelo and lucid ganoderma, and to provide them with practical technical training of planting. Scholars from the School of Life also contacted enterprises in Heyuan, which specializes in manufacturing lucid ganoderma, to help build shelter for lucid ganoderma and provide strains for villagers.

Till now, about 98% of poor households have been taking part in the group of planting red meat honey pomelo, and 37% of them even planed to enlarge the planting scale. Besides scientific support, SYSU also has a rich human resource--its schoolfellows. Since the end of November 2009, SYSU has organized MBA and EMBA students to observe the poverty alleviation program in Qinkou. Schoolfellows form SYSU respond to the call and donate money to Qinkou village to install drinking water, build activity space and install streetlights. They also found a prize in the primary school to encourage the local teachers.