Luo Zhaohai, a dairy farmer in Huichang county, Jiangxi province, who long had plans to expand his farm, is getting a major boost from a low-interest loan program from the county.

Launched in April 2014,the program allowed a local rural commercial bank to loan 30,000 yuan ($4,630) to Luo.

"I applied for another 50,000 yuan loan this week and I'm waiting for the money to expand the farm's scale and improve our living standards," he said.

It used to be very difficult for farmers - even more so for poor farmers - to secure bank loans because they often lack property to use as collateral.

To solve that problem, Huichang county authorities have devised a special financial service reform plan and a poverty-relief blueprint to help local farmers have easier access to bank loans.

The county government adopted a financing pattern that involves the government, financial institutions, major enterprises, rural cooperatives and poor farmers.

In one program, poor farmers can apply for a loan from banks if they offer their house as collateral. After they get the loan, they can either invest the money in local major enterprises and rural cooperatives for dividends; or local financial institutions can lend to major enterprises and rural cooperatives, who then provide dividends to poor farmers. If farmers are willing to transfer their land to local enterprises, they can work for the enterprises to make a living.

Through such an arrangement, about 12,000 households out of 15,834 poor families will see their incomes increase by at least 600 yuan a year, according to county authorities. Through the pilot program, 98.1 million yuan in loans have been extended to local farmers this year.

The county has also made use of the Internet to help local farmers increase their incomes.

Wu Dequan, a local farmer who used to sell special local products as a street vendor, is now selling his products to online shops because of growth in the local e-commerce industry.

"I used to sell my dried bamboo shoots at 48 yuan a kilogram at most; it can reach 80 yuan (a kilogram) now that I sell them to online shops," Wu said. "I can make a lot more money even considering the shipping costs."

Local authorities have also encouraged poor farmers to grow fruit trees and cash crops to make money. A large amount of money has been subsidized for cash crops, the raising of pigs and traditional Chinese medicines.

The county has also built new homes for more than 600 households to move from areas with disadvantaged natural conditions.

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(China Daily 12/25/2015 page5)