退耕還林

Grain for Green Project

A State campaign to restore an ecological balance to the country's western parts, by turning the low-yielding farmland back into forests and pasture.

After a massive flood struck the country in 1998, former premier Zhu Rongjin drew up a blueprint for the "grain for green project" after an inspection tour in the west, 1999. A pilot program was introduced in March 2000, in 17 provinces and autonomous regions.

Farmers who participate in the project receive subsidies in the form of grain or money for restoring cultivated land into forest and pasture. The trees can be fruit bearing, or other commercially valuable trees. While the government provides the seedlings, farmers can retain the profits from planting trees and grass, but they must take care of the restored forests and pastures.