Targeted approach taken to enrich rural areas

Poverty alleviation campaigns launched by BOC improve lives across the country

Wang Jianfeng, Party secretary of Dahuaishu village in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, promoted Malanhong-brand apples in a livestream at the ongoing China International Import Expo on Saturday.

Not just any apple can be called a Malanhong apple－their trees are grown at an altitude of 1,750 meters and need a frost-free period spanning 180 days, with the maximum temperature difference reaching 13 C, Wang told online viewers and on-site visitors.

"Our goal for this livestream is to promote the Malanhong brand, enabling more people to learn about it and the brand to gain acceptance among consumers," he said.

Wang is also an executive at Bank of China, one of the major State-owned banks in the country. He has been dispatched to the village in Chunhua, one of the poorest counties in Xianyang, to help the villagers increase their income.

"We are now increasing efforts to develop the local economy by combining agriculture, further processing and e-commerce, in a bid to lift villagers out of poverty and promote the village's sustainable growth," he said.

Since last May, Dahuaishu villagers have sold agricultural products worth more than 16 million yuan ($2.4 million), creating jobs in the village for poor local households and increasing their income.

Chunhua and another three counties in northern Xianyang－Xunyi, Changwu and Yongshou－have long been known as poor areas, due to poor transportation facilities, water shortage and low yields.

BOC has helped to turn the four ailing county economies around, by bringing them advanced ideas, technologies, and business projects, said Wu Wei, another BOC dispatched executive, who currently serves as deputy head of Xunyi county.

Wu also introduced the apples to visitors from around the world at the third CIIE.

The Malanhong apples on display reflect BOC's fruitful efforts in assisting the four counties in poverty alleviation, according to Wu

After carrying out research, BOC staff members discovered the counties are suitable for growing apples, so it organized local officials, orchard workers and technicians to go to Hebei province for training in 2016, introducing advanced planting techniques and ideas, as well as high-quality seedlings.

The bank also invited agricultural experts from Northwest A&F University in Yangling, Shaanxi province to provide on-site training to local orchard workers.

In 2017, BOC donated more than 2 million yuan to build an apple demonstration orchard in Chunhua and a 7-hectare experimental apple plantation in Xunyi county.

The pilot projects showed substantial progress in apple quality and output value in just half a year.

Between 2018 and 2020, the orchards in the counties were affected by frosts. So BOC stepped in to initiate a frost damage relief program, and help orchard farmers to reduce losses.

In addition, the bank has helped to modernize and develop agro-businesses in the counties.

Strong support

Leveraging its global resources, BOC has focused on agro-businesses and locals' well-being in its poverty relief drive.

Since 2016, BOC has spent a total of 695 million yuan on agricultural infrastructure, agro-businesses and other projects aimed at improving the life quality of residents in more than 1,000 poor counties across the country.

More than 3,000 BOC executives have been dispatched to poor areas, helping to sell agricultural products worth 565 million yuan.

The measures launched by BOC include helping to attract businesses to poor areas, offering favorable financial policies, establishing rural banks, granting loans, assisting in the sales of quality produce and agro-products, introducing international charity foundations, training local government officials and creating employment opportunities.

"Spurring consumption is a direct and effective way to help poor areas to be lifted out of poverty," said a BOC executive. "Yet due to the shortage of market information and sales channels, many agricultural products in poor rural areas are hard to sell."

Addressing the marketing difficulties, the bank is making full use of internet resources and creating an online platform for targeted poverty alleviation.

In October 2016, the Charity BOC platform went online, which combines marketing, financial services and blockchain technology, and provides a new sales channel for poor rural areas.

To date, the platform has 3 million registered users and has sold products worth more than 400 million yuan, benefitting over 110,000 poor people.

During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the banking group bought more than 1.7 million metric tons of apples worth over 11 million yuan from poor counties via the platform.

"Xianyang is a major high-quality apple production center in China, with an annual output of more than 4 million tons. Unfortunately, the region has not established a reputation in the apple market," the BOC executive said.

To cope with the issue, the bank in cooperation with local government agencies helped to register the trademark of Malanhong, inspired by the Malan revolutionary base, design the packages and promote the apples nationwide. The move has added brand value to the apple and increased its sales and profits.

The Malanhong brand success story is the epitome of BOC's practices in sustaining achievements in poverty alleviation.

Innovative models

While making donations itself and bringing in nongovernment charity resources, the bank has increased financial support for industrial projects aimed at poverty relief, especially those with market prospects and marked effects on increasing farmers' income.

The bank has increased spending on more than 70 projects this year, covering modern agro-businesses, infrastructure, healthcare and medical services, education and training, which supported poverty relief efforts in the four counties in Xianyang and boosted rural revitalization.

BOC also aided in introducing a 1-million-pig breeding project co-funded by Thailand-headquartered CP Group and other parties.

In the project that cost a combined 700 million yuan, BOC has a 30 percent stake and provided loans worth 526 million yuan.

BOC Fullerton Community Bank, one of the largest rural banks in the country, serves rural revitalization and poverty alleviation through localized personnel and county-focused business, providing financial products and services to poor areas.

In 2018, Fullerton invested 120 million yuan in setting up branches in the four counties in Xianyang.

One year after their opening, the four new branches granted loans totaling 380 million yuan to more than 2,100 clients. Over 90 percent of the loans went to rural residents or businesses.

Learning from the mature operations of other charity groups, BOC founded its charity foundation, focused on education and poverty relief. In 2018, the foundation was designated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs as one of the 20 online platforms in the country that publicize donation information.

In January this year, the foundation was renamed BOC Charity Foundation, becoming the first foundation funded by a financial institution supervised by the central government.

The BOC Charity Foundation has cooperated with renowned charity groups and launched a slew of influential programs, which have become new platforms to integrate nongovernmental resources in the country's poverty relief drive, an BOC executive said.

Since last year, the foundation has raised capital from overseas to establish a special fund for the poverty alleviation in the four counties in Xianyang.

The fund has been used on 11 projects, such as refurbishing heating facilities in rural schools and technical training for orchard farmers.

Education is the key to getting rid of poverty completely, according to the company.

BOC has raised funds to establish an educational sponsorship foundation specially for the four counties, motivating grassroots-level teachers and poor students to realize their dreams. The bank also donated to more than 6,700 students from poor families, helping them with financial difficulties.

At the same time, BOC partnered with vocational training institutions and provided poor students free training opportunities.

In collaboration with its affiliated international financial institute and Tsinghua University, BOC has provided a training program for government officials in Xianyang for over 10 years, helping nearly 600 participants improve their abilities to use financial tools and promote the growth of local economy.