China, with somewhere in the region of 900 million farmers,  struggles to adequately support its huge rural population.

Scarcity of quality land, crippling taxes and the isolation of many villages mean that millions of people would rather live in cramped, spartan conditions in the big cities than face an uncertain future in farming areas where their families have lived for generations.

In the remote villages of Huai’an Province the main cash crop is potato, from which the villagers extract starch to sell at local markets. This is a long and laborious process, mostly carried out by women. ActionAid China has been providing grinding machines to the villagers to improve the quality of the starch they extract and save them time.  Previously, a whole day’s work, from dawn to dusk, would produce 40kgs of starch. The same amount by machine takes under three minutes.

"All the village benefits. We have formed groups to decide who uses the machines and when, and this is working very well. It is all very harmonious! Before ActionAid came we had to rely on ourselves, and we did not think to ask each other for help. Now we are all brought together: when there is a question asked, we must all agree on the truth." Wang Jin Guo, 40, from Chan Dao village.

ActionAid China is encouraging villagers to change the way they farm; new breeds of sheep are being introduced and seeds are being developed to stand up to the harsh weather in northern China. Any progress in a country so huge and diverse is inevitably slow, but change is possible. Our efforts to support the rural way of life in China will continue to expand over the coming months and years.