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1. Project Summary and Relationship to China's Agenda 21

This project aims to strengthen the techniques and human resources applicable to cropping and ranching in Tibet for sustainable development through training farmers, herdsman, agricultural technician and administrators by domestics and foreign experts. This project will select and implement four priority pilot projects, which will play a critical role in the cropping and ranching development of Tibet. These pilot projects would provide valuable experience in ranching technologies and management.

This project is based on programme areas of 11A, 11C, 11F, 6B, 6C, 6D and 6E of China's Agenda 21, and related to programme areas 2A, 3A, 4C, 4B, 4C, 5C, 20C and 20E.

2. Background

Backward production pattern in Tibet has prevented the area from being self-sufficient in food production. As a result, the living standard of the farmers and herdsman is still under the national poverty line.

Wheat is the major grain in the area; maize and bean are grown as the main sources of calories and protein for high-quality forages; rape is the main oil vegetable. These crops are mainly planted in the valleys of Yarlung Zangbo River, Lhasa River and Nyang Qu River. Ranches for cattle and sheep are centred in Northern Tibet. It is necessary to establish a regional cooperation between North, with livestock grazing, and South Tibet, with crop production, to increase integrated productivity. Tibet farmers and ranchers are facing the following challenges: a) Severe shortage of technicians and managers for ranching and cropping (there are only two technicians per thousand of people); b) Poor education and skill; c) Severe lack of newly improved seeds, resulting in degradation of crop species; d) Obsolete technologies of animal husbandry and shortage of forage resources; e) Low profitability of rape and highland barley in the area, although yields are high due to obsolete processing techniques; f) Yak is the scarce native breed in Qing-Tibetan Plateau, producing milk, meat, leather, fur and providing animal power; however, the breeding quality has degraded recently; g) The Tibetan Blanket is one of the three most famous kinds of blanket in the world (the others are Turkish and Iran Islamic). However, the production centre of the Tibetan Blanket has transferred from Tibet to Nepal because the traditional defattening method is obsolete. Therefore, protecting and developing the blanket industry are critical for restoration of the Tibet Blanket industry.

Restricted by these factors, Tibetan cropping and ranching are still stagnating in the primitive and traditional stage. As a result, training technicians, administrators, farmers and herdsmen; introducing and breeding newly improved seeds; improving animal breeding and product-processing technologies; expanding the production scale; supporting and reconstructing traditional processing project are necessary in strengthening the sustainable development of Tibetan agriculture and ranching.

This project has been incorporated into the national Ninth Five-Year Plan and the Long-term Targets for the Year 2010, the Tibetan Government and related sectors. Capacity building of sustainable development and its demonstration have been incorporated into the priority agenda on the Ninth Five-Year Plans of the Tibetan Government. The government will concentrate its effort in investment, human resource input and management.

The sustainable development of Tibet in ranching and cropping will have important and positive effects on alleviating poverty, protecting and improving local environment. It will also assist the social and economic sustainable development in Tibet. The success of the project will provide a model for sustainable ranching development for other highlands in the world.

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has completed the Comprehensive Development Planning for Yarlung Zangbo River, Lhasa River, Nyang Qu River and Niyang River, feasibility analyses and implementation plans for some key projects. CAS has also established an ecological survey and research station near Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and has introduced and bred some newly improved wheat, maize and rape seeds. A group of agricultural technicians has been trained in the local areas and they are very familiar with the local conditions of agriculture and animal husbandry. These technicians will play an indispensable role in implementing this project under the direction of relevant experts.

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3. Objectives

3.1 Long-term Objective

The long-term objectives can be grouped into following two aspects: a) To remarkably enhance the capacity for sustainable development of agriculture and ranching in Tibet; and b) To provide appropriate and advanced technologies and management strategies for social, economic and culturally sustainable development in highlands.

3.2 Immediate Objectives

• Formulating an Agenda for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Ranching in Tibet and the relevant policy framework, which aims at providing necessary guidelines and institutional insurance for sustainable development of Tibetan cropping and animal husbandry.
• Personnel Training: a) to train 600 agricultural technicians (of whom 70 persons are senior agricultural technicians and 530 persons are junior technicians); b) to train 100 administrators at the prefecture, county and township government levels; c) to train farmers and herdsmen for more than 5000 visits ( including more than 1500 women visits and Tibetans and other minorities 3500 visits).
• To implement four technically intensive projects of agriculture and animal husbandry which can provide training, demonstration and experimental opportunities for sustainable development of ranching in Tibet.

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4. Outputs and Activities

4.1 Policy Framework for Tibetan Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

• To evaluate existing Tibetan policies related to agriculture and animal husbandry, and to design a suitable policy framework for sustainable development of agriculture.
• To formulate the planning of Tibetan Sustainable Development of Agriculture.
• To establish a decision-making system for sustainable development of Tibetan agriculture and animal husbandry.

Monitoring Indicators: Tibetan Agenda of the 21st Century for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry (in Chinese and Tibetan language); training agricultural and animal husbandry technicians and administrators for more than 400 visits; one basic data base for agricultural and animal husbandry management; and two computer stations.

Implementing Agencies: the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region, and foreign experts.

Time Schedule: January 1997 - January 1998

4.2 Establishing the experimental and demonstration bases, including developing appropriate technologies for protecting the breeds, improving the seed through breeding, highland farming systems and personnel training.

• To set up the following experimental demonstration bases:

• To design and build 10 solar green-houses for vegetable production. The size of each will be roughly 670 m2.
• To train 20 agronomist and 200 junior agricultural technicians, and to train local farmers at 2000 visits.

Monitoring Indicators: The Handbook of Practical Agricultural Technologies in Tibetan characters; 127 hectares of breeding base; 10 solar green-houses; 1000 trained agricultural technicians; training farmers for 3000 person- times.

Implementing Agencies: the Lhasa Ecological Survey and Research Station, the Qiyi Farm and the Government of Dazi county.

Time Schedule: 1997 January - December 2000

4.3 Establishing ex-situ livestock fattening bases and developing the technological system of livestock fattening, and training relevant technicians.

• To build a forage processing plant with annual production capacity of 20,000 tons in Lhasa, Rikaze and Shannan, respectively. The plant will use maize as the major raw material.
• To build an animal mating station equipped with a sperm bank with mating capacity of 1,000 animals in Dangxiong county.
• To improve the quality of forage, and the technologies for forage processing and livestock breeding.
• To train technicians and farmers with the improved or advanced skills/technologies in forage, breeding and mass feeding. The feed processing plants and mating station will be training centres. 20 agronomists, 200 junior agricultural technicians, and 2,000 local farmers or herdsmen will be trained.

Monitoring Indicators: three forage processing plants; one animal mating station; 1220 trained animal husbandry technicians; training herdsmen for 2000 persons-times; the Handbook of Practical Animal Husbandry Technologies in Tibetan characters.

Implementing Agencies: the Agricultural Commissions and Animal Husbandry Bureaus of Lhasa city and Rikaze city.

Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000.

4.4 Establishment of agricultural product processing plants

• To build a plant with annual capacity of 500 tons of rape seed in Rikaze and Jiangzi respectively. Their production capacity will cover 40% and 15% of the local total output of rape seed.
• To build a plant with capacity of annually processing 200 tons of highland barley in Rikaze and Lhasa respectively.
• To introduce and improve the technologies of animal feeding and detoxifying rape seed cake and barley dross.
• To train 100 technicians in using improved feed processing and animal feeding technologies, of which 80 persons are junior technicians, others are intermediate or senior technicians.

Monitoring Indicators: two rape-seed processing plants; three highland barley processing plants; 100 trained technicians.

Implementing Agencies: the governments of Lhasa city and Rikaze city.

Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000.

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4.5 Construction of a protection and improvement centre for Yak breeding and a factory for production of Tibetan Blanket and personnel training.

• To build a centre for protecting and improving yak breeding in Dangxiong county or Motuo county.
• To build a factory of Tibetan Blanket that can produce 50 tons of blanket per year in Dangxiong county or Rikaze city.
• To train 60 technicians for protecting and improving yak breeding, of which 50 persons are junior technicians and 10 are seniors.
• To train more than 100 skilled workers for knitting Tibetan Blanket.

Monitoring Indicators: one centre for protecting and improving yak breeding; one factory of Tibetan Blanket; 60 technicians and 100 persons skilled workers.

Implementing Agencies: the related agricultural commissions, Bureaus of Animal Husbandry and Commission of Economy of Tibet.

Time Schedule: January 1997 - December 2000

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5. Inputs

5.1 Chinese inputs

Chinese inputs will be used for project management, domestic transportation, researchers' subsidies, construction of experiment and demonstration bases, data collecting and information service.

5.2 International Inputs

International inputs will be used for technical collaboration and aid, technical consultation and personnel training, purchasing research instruments, and protection and improvement of breed, product processing project.

5.3 Budget

The total capital needed for this project is US$ 11.2 million. The Chinese participants will raise US$ 4.7 million from domestic sources, while foreign aid and investment will cover the other US$ 6.5 million.

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Table 1. Budget By Item (in million US dollars)

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Table 2. Budget by Output (in million US dollars)

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6. Benefits

The implementation of this project will ensure the social and economic sustainable development in Tibet and surrounding area. The project will improve the productivity in agriculture and ranching and raise the income of herdsmen and farmers. In addition, unemployment in the area will be partly solved and scarce resources will be protected. The pilot projects will provide the governments scientific data for decision making and also improve the managers, farmers and herdsmen's ability in decision-making, new technology application, and management. The experience gained from the project will provide the world a model of sustainable development in agriculture and ranching in highland area.

7. Risks

The remote location of Tibet and severe shortage of technicians will be the main constraints to the implementation of this project. Technological training will be a main resolution to these constraints. In addition, co-operation with local research and education organisations will be improved, and some executive commission and relevant consultant commission for implementing this project will be established.

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