Multiple measures help poor tide over COVID-19 difficulties

Qian Chaoshan, a 54-year-old chicken farmer, had to discard over 6,000 rotten eggs as sales plummeted during the COVID-19 epidemic.

"We collect about 400 free-range eggs every day. But I couldn't go out to sell them because of the traffic control during the epidemic," recalled Qian, who raises nearly 1,500 chicken in Shanhou Township, Hexian County of east China's Anhui Province.

Qian's family, which was earlier registered as a low-income one, cast off poverty through chicken-raising in 2019 when the birds brought them an annual income of more than 40,000 yuan (about US$5,600).

However, the epidemic has thrown up new challenges for him and his wife. Qian suffers from a chronic kidney condition while his wife has stomach disease.

The turning point came on May 8 when a training program was held in the township to help poor residents sell products through e-commerce.

Qian was at first not sure if eggs could be sold online, but desperate as he was, he decided to give it a shot.

An e-commerce company purchased samples from him and about a week later, it brought good news.

"We will order the first batch of 6,000 eggs from you and there will be more orders if the customers are satisfied," Zhu Ping, the company's general manager told him over phone. In addition to eggs, the e-commerce platform has helped impoverished households sell sesame oil, grapes and crayfish for free.

A slew of measures taken by local government has helped poor households sell agricultural products worth more than 1.12 million yuan.

Chen Xingyou, a migrant worker from Hexian, was jobless after the Spring Festival. As the family's only potential breadwinner, he was anxious to find work.

Thanks to the pairing-up project initiated by the government, Chen got a job at a local marble processing plant.

To increase the income of poor families, local government paired up poor families with factories after assessing their skills and demands.

"I got the job in April. I'm so grateful that I can have a job without leaving home," said Chen, who needs to take care of his critically-ill wife and son, a junior high school student.

China aims to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020, which means that around 5.51 million people who remained poor at the end of 2019 will be lifted out of poverty by the end of this year.

Hexian County is just a small example of the measures that have been taken across China to minimize the effect of COVID-19 on impoverished families. Various measures have been rolled out to boost sales of products in poorer regions, support employment and facilitate the revival of local industries and projects.

"It's been a tough year. But I now have a job from which I can make more than 3,000 yuan a month. I'm satisfied," said Chen.