Li Jun first began to study eucheuma a kind of tropical seaweed and its role in protecting the ocean environment in Hainan Island 20 years ago.

Today, he shares this knowledge with farmers and fishermen in East China's Fujian Province, who fondly call him Mayor Eucheuma.

Li, a senior researcher of ocean environment at the Qingdao Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), took up his position as vice-mayor of Putian city of Fujian in 2002.

His introduction of the growing of eucheuma has brought in annual revenues of 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to coastal farmers in Putian.

Li's new job is part of a CAS scheme to encourage scientists to work as vice-mayors or vice-county chiefs and apply their scientific and technological know-how to jump-start the local economy.

"These scientists are the bridges between research institutes and local governments, and their work helps millions of people shake off poverty," said Bai Chunli, CAS vice-president.

Knowldege warriors

Since 1985, 2,000 scientists and officials have participated in the scheme, many taking up their positions after winning approval from the local legislature the people's congresses. Their term of service typically runs for two years.

"These scientists-turned-officials have neither financial nor administrative resources," said Li Hefeng, deputy director of the Personnel Bureau, CAS.

Instead, they are armed with their own or their colleagues' inventions, to help local communities.

Shortly after his appointment as Putian vice-mayor, Li was dismayed to discover the serious seashore pollution at Putian from intensive aquatic farming.

However, the industry did not really bring huge profits to coastal farmers as the glut in supplies kept market prices low. "I thought of eucheuma as a way out," Li said.

The algae absorbs pollutants and farmers can extract valuable glutinous starch, an important ingredient in the making of jello.

But things were not easy. The algae grows in tropical seas but temperatures in Putian were not high enough.

Moreover, no one was prepared to lead and take the risk. Li had to pay people to travel to Hainan Province and see the eucheuma first-hand. He also enlisted the support of his colleagues.

Gradually, they worked out a plan to grow algae in Putian in spring, summer and autumn.

"As a scientist, the success of one project is reason to be satisfied, but as a local mayor, I have to think of something more," said Li.

His attention was drawn to the local farming of abalone an edible Mollusca popular in Cantonese dishes. The high local temperature was posing a problem.

Li studied abalone farming along the coast in Dalian in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province and Putian.

After hard work and negotiations, he was able to get private abalone farmers to join hands. In the winter, abalone farmers in Qingdao and Dalian would ship their young abalones to the Putian coasts for cultivation, while in summer, Putian farmers would go to Dalian.

As a result, Putian's abalone farming saw an immediate boom, with the number of abalones raised surging from 2 million in 2002 to 150 million in 2004.

Potato trick

In contrast to Li who works in the wealthier coastal regions, Zeng Fuping of the Changsha-based Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, CAS, has struggled to feed 60,000 local residents relocated from the barren Karst mountain areas.

Zeng first came to Huanjiang County in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region as an expert to help fight poverty in 1994.

"I was shocked by the extreme local poverty. Grain was planted in the seams of rocky mountains and annual per capita revenue was just 300 yuan (US$37.3)," said Zeng.

In 1998, Zeng was elected as the deputy governor of Huanjiang County, and tasked with relocating 60,000 people from the infertile mountain areas to relatively flat upland.

Having trained as an ecologist, Zeng had to first study the options himself before advising the locals on what crops to plant.

Under the guidance of Zeng and his colleagues, the farmers, who had previously known only corn farming, learnt to grow rice, fruit and potato.

Zeng found that it was difficult to persuade the locals to try something they had never met before.

Growing potatoes posed one such challenge. Revenues from fruit cultivation would take three years to realize, but in the meantime the newly relocated farmers had to feed themselves. Potatoes provided an ideal choice for cultivation.

"In order to persuade immigrants in our trial area to plant potato, I first learned to cook potato with beef and then invited all of them to taste it," said Zeng. "It was not easy because I had used my hands only inside the laboratory."

But it paid off. "While I myself became a good potato cook, the farmers overcame their initial reservations."

Also, fruit growing has increased the average annual revenue to 1,626 yuan (US$201.99) in 2005.

He did not forget his research specialty while helping farmers try new crops. "I found there was no field study site for Karst ecology in the country, so I lobbied my institute and another institute of CAS to jointly set up a trial site for this," he said.

In the past 10 years, Zeng and his colleagues have published 30 papers on Karst ecology and the agricultural potential of that region.

Thanks to their efforts, the Karst field study station was named a national-level exemplary site and given 1 million yuan (US$120,000) in funding.

While Li and Zeng have contributed their research to improve local revenues, 56-year-old Zhang Wenhua of CAS' Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology has helped local communities deal with wrong policies.

He has been working as a deputy director of the Jinchengjiang District in Hechi city, Guangxi, since 1997.

In early 2000, the district director decided to introduce sugarcane cultivation on a massive scale to improve farmers' incomes.

"But after careful studies, I discovered this might not be a wise idea," said Zhang.

While a highly profitable crop that year, sugarcane needs large amounts of water and fertilizer. Most arable land in the district is on hills and did not meet these requirements.

He sent his report to the city government. This resulted in the planting area being reduced from the planned 1,000 hectares to 33.3 hectares, said Zhang.

"The losses were reduced greatly," he said.

Source: China Daily