On March 20, 2024, the first comprehensive management project for soil and water conservation in a small watershed was launched in Mingchuan Township. This is a project that benefits the people, and is completed with high quality and on schedule while ensuring safety, making it a benchmark project in the Hefei region.

It is understood that Mingchuan Township in Feixi County is located in the Jianghuai watershed area, with relatively loose soil and large surface runoff during the rainy season. It is easy to cause serious erosion to sparse forests and exposed farmland on both sides of the riverbank, which is extremely prone to soil erosion.

The project is located in 8 villages including Nanfen Road and Qingfeng in Mingchuan Township, with a total drainage area of 26.94 square kilometers, a comprehensive treatment area of 11.68 square kilometers, and a soil erosion area of 1.523 square kilometers. With the goal of green mountains, clean water, beautiful villages, and prosperous people, and with a focus on water systems, villages, and urban areas, we will comprehensively carry out soil and water conservation work in the new era. We will mainly implement water eroded slope and forest land remediation, Liu Wawu Reservoir water ecological landscape engineering, including the construction of new environmental roads and the planting of waterfront plants, river (ditch) water ecological restoration engineering, small wetland engineering, river channel dredging, pit and pond remediation within the watershed, and ecological green space construction. The current forest land will be sealed and managed, covering an area of 1159.74 hectares. We will achieve steady growth in per capita basic farmland within the governance scope, increase land use efficiency to over 80%, average grain production of over 400 kilograms per mu, and per capita net income of over 20000 yuan. This will enable the rapid development of the rural economy and promote the development of Mingzhou. The mountains in Chuanxiang are greener, the water is clearer, the ecological environment is better, and farmers are happier.

Zhang Song, a member of the Party Committee in charge of agriculture in Mingchuan Township, said at the kickoff meeting that the project should be taken as a key task for the entire township. The township, village, and community should assign dedicated personnel to be responsible for it, and strive to make it a demonstration project. The next comprehensive management project for soil and water conservation in small watersheds in the new era will still be implemented in Mingchuan Township. Only through years of efforts can we achieve full coverage of the entire township, ensure food security, and lead the people towards a moderately prosperous society, which will give us more confidence.Editor/Cheng Liting