Yang Liu Watershed Livestock Development Project
Location: Yang Liu Township, Long Yang District of Baoshan City, Yunnan Province
No. of Recipients households: 160
No. of animals given: 160
No. of pass-on families: 160
Yang Liu watershed is located in the mountains, on the east of Nujiang River. The topography of Yang Liu watershed is very complex and it is a popular site for biodiversity research and activities due to its distinct kinds of climate.
However, in the Yang Liu watershed, there is limited arable land (0.2 acres per capita). Farmer annual income is RMB 935 (USD 116) per capita, of which 41% is from animal husbandry. The local farmers traditionally keep local breed goats, pigs and cattle in a very small scale. The local livestock have low productivity and are not profitable. Some families lack enough food for themselves. Due to the poverty, 75% of school aged children can only finish junior education and some elder farmers are illiterate.
Through this project, Heifer provides each of 160 impoverished families with a crossbred beef cattle. Training given to the participants is comprehensive, with topics including animal management (animal barn improvement, feed planting, feed formulation and disease control) and social development (gender equity, group management). Heifer also helps farmers to form project self-management committees in the villages. Together with project partners (local Bureau of Animal Husbandry and International Centre for Research of Agriculture and Forestry), Heifer helps local farmers on integrated community development in accordance with local natural resources and environmental conservation