[Poverty alleviation story] Pamirs farmers and herdsmen move out of remote mountain villages to settle down and get rich
[Explanation] Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Kashgar, Xinjiang is located in the Pamirs. The relocation of poverty alleviation and relocation brings hope to the poor farmers and herdsmen on the Pamirs.
On December 27, a reporter from China News Agency came to the resettlement site for poverty alleviation in Tatikuli, Ta County. Villager Shadat Alifuxia was telling reporters about his life in his old residence in Malyang Township before the relocation.
[Explanation] Shadat Alifuxia said that when he lived in Malyang Township, his home was more than 200 kilometers away from the village committee. The village committee was 50 kilometers away from the township government on the mountain road. It took three days to get there by horseback riding.
The township government is 120 kilometers away from the county seat and has to climb over Daban at an altitude of 4,500 meters. They rarely get out of the mountains unless necessary.
[Concurrent] Shadat Alifuxia, a villager of Tatikuli, Taxkorgan County, Kashgar, Xinjiang
It turned out that my family was in Malyang, and my house was an earthen house. Life was very difficult. It took half an hour to get water. The children went to school far away. The income was unstable and only more than 10,000 yuan per year.
[Explanation] Now without moving out of the Pamirs, Shadat Alifuxia has lived a stable life that he never thought of.
After the relocation, she and her family moved into a new house of 80 square meters for free, with water and electricity access, a small vegetable garden and a 100 square meter standard cattle and sheep warming pen in the courtyard. Now Shadat Alifuxia’s family is only 25 kilometers away from the county seat.
[Concurrent] Shadat Alifuxia, a villager of Tatikuli, Taxkorgan County, Kashgar, Xinjiang
Life here is very good now, water is convenient, electric heating is available in winter, and my children are close to school. Now my husband and I are border guards, each person is 2600 yuan per month, and there are 16 acres of land in my family. Now I earn 11 per year. Around ten thousand yuan.
[Explanation] Alimakhan Nadirsha, a villager in the resettlement site for poverty alleviation and relocation in Tatikuli, opened a small shop in the resettlement site a year ago. Her husband is a border guard. She told the reporter that her life is very different now. Okay, I’m close to my neighbors and it’s very convenient to go to the county.
[Concurrent period] Alimakhan Nadirxia, a villager of Tatikuli, Taxkorgan County, Kashgar, Xinjiang
I originally moved from Malyang. Life there is very difficult and inconvenient. It has been three years since I opened a store in 2019. The store can earn more than 10,000 yuan per year. My husband’s border guard is 2,600 yuan a month, plus Farming, earning more than 60,000 yuan in 2020, I am very satisfied with my current life.
[Explanation] Five townships including Malyang Township, Datong Township, and Waqia Township in Ta County are located in remote mountainous areas of Ta County, with fragile ecological environment and frequent natural disasters.
In 2017, Ta County officially implemented the Tatikuli Relocation Project for Poverty Alleviation and Resettlement. More than 1,400 farmers and herdsmen from 5 townships have moved into their new homes one after another, solving the problem of "difficulty for one side to support one person".
[Explanation] It is understood that nearly 4000 mu of cultivated land has been reclaimed at the Tatikuli relocation site, with an average of nearly 3 mu per capita.
By laying high-efficiency water-saving water-saving irrigation facilities and using agricultural machinery for farming, it helps herders develop modern agriculture.
The 40,000 mu of land near the relocation site is cultivated as a large artificial pasture so that the herders can continue to develop animal husbandry.
The relocation site also has public service facilities such as kindergartens, infirmaries, and cultural rooms to ensure people's lives.
[Contemporary period] Maimatibek Nizarbek, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Tatikuli Resettlement Site, Kashta County, Xinjiang
Thanks to the efforts of our farmers, we have started to plant the land. At present, we have all planted in front of our house and behind the house. We are in the second year. The income from the cultivated land this year is very good. We cultivated the land and developed animal husbandry. In business, the income of our farmers is getting higher and higher. I believe that the future of Tatikuli is better.
Reporter Rong Rui reports from Kashgar, Xinjiang
Editor in charge: 【Luo Pan】