“Carrefour-HPP”Chongqing Fengdu County Farmers’ Clubs Project (Fengdu FC Project) was sponsored by The Carrefour Foundation. It was a participatory poverty alleviation project, jointly implemented by The Federation for Associations connected to the International Humana People to People Movement (Switzerland) Yunnan Project Office (‘HPPYO’) and Fengdu County Poverty Alleviation and Development Office  The project started in Feb. 2012, with the overall investment of 367,000 Euro for 3.5 years, covering 3 administrative villages in Baoluan Town, Fengdu County, which were Honghuapo, Baiguoyuan and Qinghongping. More than 1,000 households benefited. With the great support of Fengdu PADO, Baoluan Township Government, Carrefour Chongqing and the village committees, the project was completed perfectly in Oct. 2015.

“Carrefour-HPP”Chongqing Fengdu FC Project aimed at exploring a win-win development model by combining poverty alleviation with enterprises supply chain. The project provided a series of education trainings and agricultural technology support for the villagers, such as provision of young animals and vegetable seeds, instructions on livestock raising and crop planting. Finally the project helped villagers to sell the products to increase local farmers’ income and improve their quality of life. Meanwhile, the company could get a safe production base which linked farm and supermarkets.

We set up the Farmers’ Clubs in the project sites. Usually each club included 40 to 50 households, and each Farming Instructor was responsible for 7 clubs. The Farmers’ Clubs are a skills sharing platform. On the platform, the villagers put heads together to seek the sales channel and solve problems during working and daily life. Through Farmers’ Clubs, conservation farming agricultural practices were promoted, production skills improved, and new products were introduced; villagers’ income was increased by establishing Community Development Funds or Cooperatives and integrating social resources; a platform of experience and technology sharing was built; villagers’ production and self-organizing capacity was strengthened by training, field trips and guidance; villagers organized themselves to reach the market requirements by centralized purchasing and marketing and cost reduction. The project also proactively explored the method of the link between farmers and supermarkets which could connect the farmers in clubs and the Carrefour supermarkets in Chongqing.

Therefore, the project activities included planting cash crops like walnut, hot pepper and potato and etc., and introducing new breed like black potato. The project workers helped to contact purchasers, with their commitment, the villagers then planted the crops with their own willing to adjust industrial structure, at the same time the mountains environment improved, economical production developed, so the sustainable development could be achieved .The project villages locatesin mountainous areas, which is good to breeding stocks. Based on breed optimizing and diversity breeding consideration, the project supported villagers to introduce the Boer Goat in some local areas. Through “pass-on grants”, more villagers could benefit and the breed improvement area expanded. In rice growing area, project carried out System of Rice Intensification demonstration activity to help villagers improve planting pattern in scientific way and to increase yield and income. Finally, the successful demonstration activity could be promoted to other villagers who did not participated this time in the project.

Meanwhile, according to the actual need, Information Technology Kiosks were set up in 3 administrative villages. Computer knowledge and skills training for villagers was provided. By fully using distance education and internet media, villagers’ literacy and knowledge were improved. Owing to the IT Rooms, when villagers met problems they didn’t know, they would find the solutions on line, such as how to build water channel and water pool to solve irrigation and water-use problem in low-water season; how to build landfill pool to improve the hygienic and environmental conditions in village.

Since the project was implemented, the project was supported and acknowledged by local people and government. For instance, in Oct. 2012, local government subsidized RMB500 for each goat to encourage local people breed Boer goat; in 2013, Fengdu PADO added RMB400,000 as supporting funds to purchase and plant walnut sapling in large scale, which reached about 1200 mu planting, including general farmland and hillsides. It improved and perfected the local economic structure. The support from government had an important role in poverty alleviation and community development work.

Since the project was implemented for three years, it achieved a gratifying result. the average per household annual income increased by 53.7%,compared with previous RMB25176; In order to promote crops’ yield and quality, “Designated Supply” was implemented in project villages; chemical fertilizer and pesticides’ usage amount decrease by 24%, insecticide’s usage amount decreased by 30%; 70% villagers had enough drinking and irrigation water, and rubbish management system; The awareness of environmental protection, nutrition health and hygiene of villagers was improved, and project supported villagers to install 94 solar hearters. The Farmers Clubs covered 3694 people, and villagers were united as one and presented as mutual-help groups or small groups , which included 1 Walnut Cooperation Union, 2 Growing Cooperation Unions and 1 Comprehensive Cooperation Union. The groups improved villagers’ participation degree, planning capability on production, financial management, market access ability and the crisis response capacity.

Now, though the project was completed, based on sustainable development and capacity building idea, the project villagers will continue to benefit from the community self-development method. The project also will brought us in HPP fresh development ideas and enlightenment. No doubt, these inspirations will help HPP to implement rural development projects better in the future.

The expert demonstrating the Rice Intensification Technology

Black potato planting

Checking hot pepper’s growing

Potato in good harvest

Piglet pass-on

Boer goats pass-on

Building water channel

Building garbage pool

Training of walnut sapling planting

The villagers training meeting


FC Fengdu project is supported by Carrefour Foundation