Hundreds of millions of investments have been wasted, and artificial terraces have suffered bad luck
"We have high hopes and invested a lot of money, but who would have thought ,......" Mr. Wu shook his head helplessly. As a veteran local agricultural practitioner, he witnessed the whole process of the "artificial terrace" project, which was jointly built by the government and enterprises – from the initial ambition to the shattering of the dream.
What are Artificial Terraces? Sounds like a novel agricultural concept. In fact, it originates from the reuse of limited land resources, aiming to increase the arable area and improve land utilization through artificial transformation and construction of terraces. In some mountainous areas, artificial terraces are seen as an innovative solution to the local shortage of agricultural land.
The small county where Mr. Wu is located also had high hopes for the artificial terrace project. A few years ago, the local government and several companies spent hundreds of millions of yuan to build a large-scale artificial terrace, vowing to make it a "star project" of modern agriculture.
"At the time, everyone was fascinated by the project." "Government officials thought it would boost the image of the place, and the business owners also valued the potential economic value, so the two sides hit it off and started the construction in full swing," Mr. Wu said. “
But as soon as the project was completed, there were unforeseen circumstances. A sudden heavy rain has brought down this man-made wonder. The rain was raging, completely washing away some of the terraces, and the rest were covered in bruises. To make matters worse, due to the lack of perfect protective measures, the massive mudslides have caused serious soil erosion and caused immeasurable damage to the surrounding environment.
"In this way, our star project quickly became an unfinished project." Mr. Wu said helplessly.
The difficulties of the artificial terraces project are related to some problems in the design and construction at the time, but the deeper reason may be the lack of comprehensive assessment of risks by investors and builders when making decisions.
"While artificial terraces may seem like a good way to make use of idle land resources, the natural and geographical challenges encountered in the implementation process are far greater than people think." Professor Wang, an agricultural engineering expert at Tsinghua University, said, "It is necessary to have a full understanding and evaluation of the topography, climate, soil and other factors of the location in order to formulate a feasible plan." “
Another expert, Professor Li, pointed out that in the pursuit of economic interests, some places have not taken into account the long-term development of artificial terraced projects, and the failure of artificial terraced projects and the high tuition fees have caused countless people to sing abruptly. This was supposed to be a good story of modern agricultural innovation, but it turned out to be a regrettable lesson. Relevant authorities need to learn from experience, improve decision-making and supervision mechanisms, pay attention to risk assessment, and strengthen the promotion of the concept of sustainable agricultural development to avoid similar incidents from happening again.
What to do with the huge amount of money that has been lost? Experts disagree, "just give up and prevent further waste" or "find a way to remedy it and try to recover some of the costs"? The answer may take time. However, it is undeniable that this lesson will raise some people's concerns about the concept of "artificial terraces", and the promotion of such projects in the future may face more resistance.
Throughout the world, every seemingly beautiful development concept can face many difficulties when put into practice. Successes are desirable, but failures should also be regarded as valuable assets, and only by learning lessons can we make steady progress on the road to development.
Although the artificial terrace project has encountered Waterloo, it is not infeasible in itself, and the key is how to avoid risks and find a sustainable development path. This requires the cooperation of governments, businesses, experts and the public. Perhaps one day, the light of the artificial terraces will still shine, but only if you are humble enough to learn and innovate. At that time, the bad experience of the past will be a stepping stone to success.