Cargill Inc, the US-based agricultural and industrial conglomerate, partnering with Heifer International, has launched a program aimed at improving the lives of more than 450 smallholder farmers in Qingshen county in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Cargill donated 1.72 million yuan ($250,000) to Heifer, a US-based charity organization with a focus on easing hunger and poverty, to start the Qingshen Sustainable Livelihoods and Community Holistic Development Project.

Under the project, 150 small-scale farmers will receive 100 baby chicks each, with the aim that as these farmers grow their own broods, each of them will be asked to pass on 100 chicks to other smallholder farmers. By the end of the project in 2020, the goal is to assist 450 smallholder farmer households.

A total of 87 families have received broiler chickens through the program so far, with an additional 70 project families due to receive layer chicks by the end of May.

Chuck Warta, president of Cargill Premix and Nutrition, said as part of Cargill's mission, it is important to improve the lives of one family at a time to help them improve their own livelihoods.

Warta said: "We are grateful to participate in such a meaningful partnership with Heifer that truly has the opportunity to transform lives."

Unlike other charitable agricultural programs, women-led farms are the main targets of the program, which aims to increase family incomes by building an organized chicken production system for smallholders.

The recipient families also are participating in training in animal husbandry and farm management as the project also seeks to help build market links.

The project also incorporates Heifer's Passing on the Gift program, where each farming family passes on livestock to another family in need. The goal is to include two generations of Passing on the Gift, distributing chicks to more than 450 farmers.

Pierre Ferrari, president and chief executive officer of Heifer, said: "Through this project, participants will learn to raise chickens and produce food in an environmentally sustainable way. By providing the livestock, training and entry skills into markets, we will help women become more empowered and better able to provide for their families."

Dai Yu, an official at Qingshen county government, said: "Since the Cargill-sponsored project came into the two villages, it has brought about new vitality to our 'targeted poverty alleviation' strategy and created strong impetus for the holistic development of the two villages."

Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to global markets. It has 150,000 employees in 70 countries and regions.

Wang Xueling, a researcher of the Rural Development Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said: "The Chinese government has decided to eradicate poverty by 2020 - the target year for China to become a well-off society in an all-round way. The country is using a combination of incentives and policy to tackle the problem, with 'precision' as the key."

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn