HOHHOT－Hai Quan, a herdsman in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, is making more money with fewer livestock thanks to a subsidy policy.

The government implemented the policy in 2011, providing subsidies to herdsmen who stop using damaged grassland.

The country has spent 45.5 billion yuan ($6.64 billion) on subsidies in the region, benefiting more than 4.9 million farmers and herdsmen every year.

"The quality of grassland and livestock has improved although the number of livestock dropped after the policy was launched. We are making more money than before," Hai said. "The wildlife that had disappeared from the grassland years ago has come back with the improvement in the environment."

Yurelt, another herdsman in the region's Xilin Gol League, can earn more than 200,000 yuan ($29,000) annually from 340 hectares of grassland. "Such a good life was unbelievable 10 years ago," he said.

Yurelt, who goes by one name, and his family raised over 900 sheep before the policy was implemented. However, overgrazing led to the desertification of the grassland, and he failed to make ends meet after the purchase of additional pastures.

He received over 10,000 yuan in subsidies thanks to the policy and turned to breeding cows. "The price of a cow is the equivalent of more than 10 sheep, and raising cows has much less impact on the grassland than raising sheep," he said.

Yurelt added that his workload is much easier as there is fewer livestock to manage. He can also earn an additional 70,000 yuan a year treating the livestock of other herdsmen with his veterinary skills.

A total of 28 million hectares of desertified and degraded grassland in the region has been restored since the policy was implemented, according to the region's agriculture and animal husbandry department. The monitoring data showed that the region's average coverage of grassland vegetation reached 44 percent last year, an increase of 7 percentage points over 2010.

"The policy has aroused the enthusiasm of local farmers and herdsmen in protecting the grassland and played an important role in the scientific utilization of grassland resources and the income increase of the farmers and herdsmen," said Luo Huzai, Party secretary of Xilin Gol League.

Xinhua