Greenhouses: a steady income for poor families

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By CGTN's Zhu Da

Wang Suisheng, 56, is an ordinary villager of Dongshaoyi, Lankao county of Henan Province. He lives with his wife, Tan Jingzhi, and their little son. As their per capita income was lower than 2,300 yuan (about 336 US dollars) a year in 2016, they were a typical poor family here according to China’s standard for poor households.

In 2014, his wife, Tan Jingzhi, was diagnosed with lung cancer. In 2015, the cancer metastasized into Tan Jingzhi’s brain. On the treatment this family has spent some 200,000 yuan (about 29,186 US dollars). This is the main reason for their poverty.

Tan Jingzhi is sorting the beans. /CGTN Photo

To help them out of poverty, the poverty alleviation team of Dongshaoyi village encourages Wang Suisheng to build his own greenhouse. Once the greenhouse is built, this family will have a steady income and Wang Shuisheng can take good care of his wife at home.

The government firstly offered him a sum of 5,000 yuan (about 730 US dollars) as an allowance. After that, he applied for a 50,000 yuan’s discount loan (about 7,297 US dollars) – the government pays the interest of the loan. With this money and his own savings of 30,000 yuan (about 4,378 US dollars), Wang Suisheng’s first greenhouse was successfully built in 2015.

Inside a greenhouse, the beans are planted here. /CGTN Photo

In this July, Lankao county will launch a special health insurance program to help disadvantaged families. It’s a good news for Tan Jingzhi because over 90 percent of the medical costs for her cancer will be covered.

Wang Suisheng is interplanting peanut on his wheat field. /CGTN Photo

Encouraged by the poverty alleviation policy, Wang built another two greenhouses with his daughters last year. Each greenhouse can bring him around 80,000 yuan (about 11,675 US dollars) one year. “I will be able to pay off all the debt in about a year,” he said.

582km