Abstract: China's ‘subsidy and award' policy for farmers and herdsmen which was implemented in 2011 is a project designed to benefit rural people, and to provide the largest practicable amount of capital and benefit to the largest possible number of people in grassland regions. It is a key measure to reconcile the conflicting needs of human populations, and of grassland and livestock husbandry by encouraging and supporting farmers and herdsmen to use the grassland in a reasonable way and develop an ecologically sustainable grassland-livestock industry. This has been achieved by providing farmers with subsidies and awards. The central government has continually reviewing the policy details for optimum impact, and improving the support level. Based on the ‘four-to-provinces' and ‘five-to-households' principle, local governments have shown astute attention to regional practices and local innovation, when administering the policy. Significant ecological, economic and social progress has been achieved since the inception of this policy. However, there is still a coordination gap and lack of congruence between production and ecological considerations, and the conflicts between needs of people, and management considerations of grassland and livestock systems remain incompletely resolved. Further adjustment needs to occur in the subsidy and award policy framework, aimed at promoting grassland protection, regeneration, and management, as well as sustainable development of the grassland industries.

Key words: farmers and herdsmen, subsidy and award policy, background, achievements