Grassland Transfer

Susan Risk
Sure Fire Video Production/Live Wire Video Production
46 minutes • 2004

Looking out over the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, one could easily mistake it for the Canadian prairies. With similar geography, topography and weather patterns, the two arid regions are natural partners to exchange knowledge on sustainable dryland farming practices. Grassland Transfer follows the progress of just such an exchange: the Canada-China Sustainable Agriculture Development Project. Supported by CIDA, the project joins the expertise of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA)—a Canadian agency formed in the crucible of the Saskatchewan dustbowl—and its partners in northern China's Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (IMAR). With Canadian plant ecologist Jeff Thorpe as guide, the film journeys into China and the heart of the Inner Mongolian grasslands. The area currently faces a crisis similar to the drought of Canada's Dirty Thirties, theirs the result of population pressure and enormous overgrazing. While delving into the science behind drought, desertification and practices to renew ailing lands, the documentary also offers a rich tapestry of images from the land itself, the people, their culture and customs.

Subject(s): Agriculture, China, Environmental issues, Saskatchewan, World cultures