A sheep farm funded by Huzhou in Longyan village, Guang'an district, Guang'an city in Southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

The practice adopted by Huzhou to help impoverished places in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Southwest China's Sichuan province eliminate poverty through sheep breeding was honored as one of the best poverty reduction practices in the world at the 2021 International Seminar on Global Poverty Reduction Partnerships recently held in Beijing.

The practice by the city in East China's Zhejiang province is among the 106 best poverty reduction cases solicited by a campaign launched by international organizations including the International Poverty Reduction Center in China, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme and the Asian Development Bank.

This year, 494 poverty reduction cases from 29 countries were nominated, with 106 earning recognition.

Huzhou was paired with Keping county in Xinjiang under the east-west cooperation program for poverty relief that was launched by the central government.

Since 2013, the city has allocated 44.9 million yuan ($6.9 million) to help Keping develop its sheep breeding industry, which has helped increase the incomes of more than 2,000 impoverished households.

Following the successful implementation of the project in Xinjiang, thousands of sheep from Huzhou have been introduced to places such as Guang'an district and Qingchun county in Sichuan as part of poverty relief efforts.