The key to strong villages and rich farmers is talent, and the focus of rural revitalisation is on talent development. Moreover, village-level Party secretaries are essential to this. Recently, the 2019 rural-revitalisation training class for village-level Party secretaries concluded at Lishui Radio and TV University (Lishui RTVU).

It was organised by the Lishui Rural Revitalisation Institute () and sponsored by the Lishui Municipal Organisation Department of the CPC, the Office of the Leadership Team for Village Development, and the Lishui Rural Agricultural Bureau. The training was divided into three sessions, each lasting three days, and concluded at the end of March. 627 village-level Party secretaries from eight counties and two urban regions attended.

Developing village economies is essential to fighting poverty and bringing about rural revitalisation. The trainees all came from villages that are depressed in terms of industries and resources, and the training aimed to show them how this can be remedied.

The training included lectures, discussions, and in-depth interpretations by experts of the documents issued by the Party Central Committee on Party conduct and building, combining of economic development with ecological preservation, and development of village economies through suitable projects. Village secretaries who have succeeded in eliminating economic weakness were also invited to share their experiences. Zheng Jianquan, Party secretary of Xintao Village, explained how the changes there had helped to make it wealthy.

During the discussions, everyone spoke freely about the problems development faces. Suggestions included better training of rural cadres and enhancement of leadership; soliciting investment from successful former residents; enhancing economic autonomy through projects integrating agriculture and tourism, or establishing collective property; enhancing the use of existing resources; establishing cooperation among village enterprises; and using the market as the basis of development.

Xu Liyong, deputy minister of the Organisation Department of the Lishui Municipal Party Committee, stated that the task of village economic development is urgent, and that no one should rest until it is completed. According to Bao Weifang, a trainee from Songyang County, the training was highly practical, and he would return home to apply what he had learned in contributing to the development of the village.

Rural revitalisation has been a focus since the 19th CPC national congress, with cultivation of rural talent a major aspect of this. In April 2018, Lishui RTVU set up a training school, the Lishui Rural Revitalisation Institute, to move the focus of rural training toward agricultural innovation. Over the course of the year since then, it has offer 24 programmes to over 1,100 trainees, giving the RTVU a large role in the development of villages.

By Lishui RTVU