Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County in Chongqing Municipality is located within the South China Karst, a vast area of mountains and geological formations covering much of southwest China. Sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn are better suited to Pengshui's terrain and climate than other starch crops, and its innovative approach to the cultivation and processing of sweet potatoes received international recognition as means to alleviate poverty this month.

Established in 2018, the Global Solicitation on Best Poverty Reduction Practices is jointly organized by the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme and the China Internet Information Center. With the aim of inspiring individuals and organizations to share case studies as reference materials for global poverty alleviation work, the initiative announces a list of winners at the International Seminar on Global Poverty Reduction Partnerships.

This year's seminar, held on December 10 in Beijing, announced the results of the sixth call for submissions, which was made in October 2024 and garnered 840 submissions from 40 countries and regions. Themed Strengthening Partnerships to Address Poverty Reduction Challenges, the event aimed to explore collaborative approaches for advancing global poverty alleviation and brought together nearly 200 participants from 17 countries and seven international organizations.

One hundred and eight cases were selected for recommendation. The evaluation prioritized the sustainability and replicability of the poverty reduction models, the practical operability of the technologies, and the inclusiveness shown toward vulnerable populations.

At the seminar, Gao Anming, Editor in Chief of China International Communications Group (CICG), proposed jointly establishing an open and inclusive platform for sharing knowledge on poverty reduction that might encourage more countries and institutions to share best practices globally. CICG has been facilitating the international sharing of China's poverty reduction and development experiences for more than 70 years through programs, events and publications including Beijing Review.

In a prerecorded message, FAO representative to China Carlos Aldeco said the majority of the world's extremely poor still reside in rural areas and their livelihoods heavily depend on agriculture and other aspects of the rural economies. "The message is clear: Ending poverty requires transforming agrifood systems to ensure better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind," Aldeco said. "When investments in agriculture are combined with multisectoral approaches—creating jobs, fostering economic diversification, and investing in people—pro-poor rural growth can flourish, helping communities break free from poverty and hunger."

The seminar reached the consensus that strengthening international poverty reduction partnerships is paramount when confronting global poverty challenges. All stakeholders should deepen the sharing of successful experiences, innovate cooperation models, and jointly propel global poverty reduction forward, thereby contributing to the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A testament to transformation

This year, Li Guoxu, a sweet potato farmer in Ping'an Town of Pengshui, produced over 300 tons of sweet potatoes on her 9-hectare farm. Approximately 220 tons of these were processed into starch, generating a net income exceeding 200,000 yuan ($28,391).

"When I was young, our main diet was sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn. If we are tired of one, we switched to another. It was always these same few things," Li told Guangming Daily newspaper. "Who would have imagined we could actually build a good life thanks to the sweet potato?"

Transforming sweet potatoes into a "source of prosperity" demanded rigorous effort in both cultivation and processing.

This scientific backbone is being provided by researchers like Fu Yufan, a sweet potato research professor at the Southwest University's School of Life Sciences. His team recently conducted on-site evaluations of this year's trial varieties, assessing yields and starch levels, as well as carotenes and anthocyanins, which are pigments and antioxidants. "We have tried over 400 varieties in Pengshui and have successfully selected those with high yields, high starch extraction rates, and strong economic returns for widespread promotion," Fu told Guangming Daily.

The scale of industrialization is increasing. The county has established over 50 large-scale growing bases and built 42 production lines for processing. With more than 10 types of deep-processed sweet potato products now available, the total output value of the entire sweet potato industry chain exceeds 2 billion yuan ($284 million).

E-commerce has served as the primary link connecting Pengshui's harvest to the wider market. By cultivating over 2,500 e-commerce entities and selling sweet potato products via livestreaming, the county has effectively dismantled the traditional agricultural dilemma where "good products struggled to leave the village, and fair prices were hard to achieve."

A case in point

China Railway Construction Group Co. Ltd. (CRCC) has been highly effective in helping address the critical lack of rail infrastructure and trained technical personnel across Africa. Its capacity-building efforts to assist in poverty alleviation have also made the list of award-winning case studies this year.

In Nigeria, where the railway system was aging and the local education system was not meeting the needs of the modern transportation industry, CRCC began construction of the Federal University of Transportation in Daura Town, Katsina State, in 2021. It is the first specialized university of its kind in Africa and opened in May 2024. The university is now capable of training 500 transportation and railway engineering professionals annually, filling knowledge and technical skill gaps.

Further bolstering this local development is CRCC's joint training model, "Study in China, Return Home for Service," implemented in collaboration with Central South University in Changsha, Hunan Province, and Chang'an University in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. This program has cultivated over 200 Nigerian and Ethiopian graduates, who now form the technical backbone for major infrastructure operations, notably the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, Africa's first cross-border electrified railway built by Chinese companies. The railway connects Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and the Port of Djibouti.

Embodying the principle that teaching people to fish is more sustainable than giving them a fish, CRCC is deeply involved in vocational education through the Luban Workshops. Named after the ancient Chinese carpenter Lu Ban, this international cooperative project shares China's vocational skills and culture globally. CRCC helped establish Africa's first Luban Workshop in Djibouti, which offers specializations including railway engineering and logistics.

CRCC has also successfully localized the management of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, training nearly 3,000 local employees in driving, operations and maintenance. Today, local staff independently play all critical technical roles, ensuring long-term operational resilience. BR

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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