Impacts Of Grain For Green Project On Rural Livelihood

For a long time, due to the blind deforestation, reclamation, steep slopes and sandy land farming, China appeared seriously natural disasters, the living environment of the people and the state of ecological security are threatened. The project of returning farmland to forest, which began in 1999, is the largest ecological construction project in the world so far. It has significant and profound impact on the ecological construction of China and the national economic development. In some areas, because of the relevant policies of returning farmland to forest, which led to the transformation of the mode of production, the livelihood of farmers are influenced directly. If the livelihood of the majority of farmers can not be solved efficiently and properly, there will be some new social problems expect the achievements of farmland to forests can’t be protected effectively.Based on the sustainable livelihood frame issued by DFID, this study was carried out according to the effect to the livelihood capital of farms which caused by the implementation of the project and the understanding level which about farmers for the returning farmland to forest project. The main research contents of this are as follows:(1) the analysis of the general situation of farmers’livelihood capital and the analysis of fanners’livelihood capital differences between farmers who take part in the project and farmers who don’t; (2) the study of farmers’understanding level of returning farmland to forest project (3) the analysis of project impacts on farmers’livelihood capital and farmer’s livelihood strategies according to the impact; (4) starting the study about farmers’livelihood through the evaluation of returning farmland to forest project.The main conclusions of this study are as follows:First, the study has made remarkable achievements; sample farmers in the most material capital, they have the least financial capital; by comparing the farmers who participate in the project with the farmers who don’t participate in the project, the natural capital, material capital and labor capital condition of the former don’t better the latter.Secondly, only half farmers of the sample understand the returning farmland to forest policy and have clear knowledge about the importance (include the positive function) of the policy, the majority of farmers are willing to participate in the farmland activity and they think the activity can help to increase their income, therefore, they are satisfactory with the project. Most of farmers think the project should be continued and they say that they won’t re-cultivate because they can increase their income by going out to work, engaging in aquaculture industry and so on;Thirdly, due to the long periodicity of forest, farmers has to reduce the natural capital, some traditional farming methods transform to aquaculture production form, which makes the value of material capital measurement increase significantly, social capital and financial capital increase slightly, the proportion of the rural home labor force decreases; the impact on farmers’livelihood strategies is showed how to develop forestry and to manage and arrange their families.Finally, based on the main conclusions of this study, it summarizes the problems of the project and structure the subsequent supporting policies for consolidating existing results of ecological construction and improving returning farmland to forest according to the frame of sustainable development, meanwhile, it provides policy advice about promoting the sustainable development of forest, increasing agricultural and forestry income and building forest zone.