Li Junfeng: Supporting Poverty Alleviation with Management Experience

China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (Energy China Group) launched a special team focused on poverty alleviation work in Zhenba town of Shaanxi province in 2016.

In 2017, Li Junfeng, director of the human resource department of China Energy Engineering Group Northeast No.1 Electric Power Construction Co., Ltd. was sent to Haopingzi village in Zhenba town to help villagers overcome poverty.

Covering about 12 square kilometers (18,000 mu), the village has only 1,295 mu of farming area. Of the 750 villagers from 216 households in the village, 182 were from low-income families, making their living by planting, breeding and rural labor service export. The net per-capita income of the village in 2017 was 9,348 yuan ($1,327.31).

The first month in the village, Li visited all its families, learning their living conditions and figuring out ways to help them get rid of poverty.

He discovered that infrastructure in the village was a key part of poverty alleviation.

With the first poverty alleviation fund of 1.2 million yuan, Li coordinated with local governments and built the first road linking the village to the G210, a national road built in the 1930s that connects Shaanxi, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, Inner Mongolia and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions and Chongqing.

Construction of the village road began in August 2017 and the road opened to traffic in April 2018, the first stride of the development of the village.

A small-scale photovoltaic power plant with 16.5 MW installed capacity was also built with Li's help. It started operation in November 2017 and can bring each family 500 yuan of income annually for the next 20 years.

Taking advantage of his business management experience, Li encouraged villagers to work hard and fight for themselves.

He helped the village to expand its existing industries of crop growing and breeding. By the end of 2017, the village had planted 3,500 loquat trees and 15,000 Tianma, a precious and very nutritious Chinese herb.

A pheasant breeding park covering five mu started adaptive cultivation and a 2,160-square meter fruit and vegetable greenhouse was also soon ready for business.

Li introduced such management modes as bonus and stockholding systems into the village. He promoted new industries and encouraged villagers to open online shops.

Within two years, 106 people were out of poverty.

Li Junfeng visits a poverty-stricken family in Haopingzi village. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Zhang Tianyuan)