China-Canada project helps Chinese small farmers

The five-year China-Canada project helping Chinese small farmer households Small adapting to global Markets Project" was successfully completed at the end of 2008. Good results were made in policy research, personnel training and pilot projects of agricultural products.
This was the first international cooperation project focused on the development of small farmers in China since its accession into the WTO. Its purpose was to raise the market competitiveness of Chinese small farmers in adapting to domestic and international markets. With the support of the Canadian International Development Agency, the project started in April 2003, and was jointly executed by China's Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, policy research in the field of food safety provides valuable references for the legislation of the Food Safety Law (Draft), the Agricultural Product Quality Safety Law (which has been enacted), as well as the drafting of rules like those governing the food recall and hog Slaughtering.
The policy research on WTO negotiations mainly involves market access and the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and related tariff trade barriers, etc. Some research results achieved in the area of agricultural administration have already been adopted by policy documents issued by the State Council.
Regarding capacity building, the project organized several training sessions on food safety, quality control on farms, WTO agricultural policies as well as agricultural operation and management.
The number of total trainees exceeded 20,000, of which around 31 percent were female trainees and 10 percent were ethnic minorities. With the support of the project, the first textbook ever for the training of hygienic inspection of meat products has been promoted all over China.
The project established 95 pilot villages in altogether five counties in Sichuan Province and Inner Mongolia. By the end of 2007, the project had trained about 15,000 person-times for farmers, personnel who promote agricultural technologies, people from processing enterprises and local officials in both Canada and China. Compared with that in 2003 when the project was initiated, the farmers in the five pilot counties of the 2008 project reported an income increase of up to 50% and a per capita income increase of 1,800 yuan.
After the "5.12" earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, executives from both China and Canada promptly adjusted their work plans. Measures were taken to help local small farmers resume production and carry out post-quake reconstruction.
Source: People's Daily Online