Developing modern agriculture is the Chinese government's top
priority in building a new socialist countryside, according to a
central government document released on Monday.
The document, jointly released by the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China and the State Council, is dubbed the No.1
central government document. It is the first set of major policies
to be released this year and focuses on rural development for the
fourth consecutive year.
"Developing modern agriculture has proven to be the basic
channel through which farmers' incomes can be increased," said the
document.
Last year, the per-capita income of Chinese farmers stood at
3,587 yuan (US$460), less than one third of the level of urban
residents.
To bridge the wealth gap, the central government said it would
pump more money into rural areas. "Most of the fixed-assets
investment and money earmarked for education, public health and
culture this year should go to rural areas," the document said.
"Local governments should also channel more money it earns from
selling land use rights to the countryside," it said.
The document advocated the establishment of a mechanism to
secure stable sources of capital from both government and financial
institutions.
Both the central and local governments should allocate special
funds to support the processing of farm produce, which is higher
value-added than land-intensive farming, it noted.
"The livestock breeding industry has a direct bearing on the
lives of the general public ... Governments at various levels must
strengthen its control over fodder quality," it said, urging more
money to be spent on subsidizing the breeding of fine dairy cattle
and the prevention and control of animal epidemics.
The central government will also make greater efforts to equip
the agriculture industry with modern technology this year.
"China will continue to focus on improving the quality of
farming and raise the utilization rate of the land and other
natural resources in rural areas," it said.
The country will also stick to the principle of self-reliance in
food provision and gradually build a stable, well-controlled and
highly-efficient food safety guarantee system.
In 2006, China produced more than 490 billion kilograms of
grain, only 1 percent increase on the 2005 figure, but nevertheless
an increase in output for the third straight year.
The Study Times, a newspaper affiliated to the Party
School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China,
predicted that China could face the possibility of a 4.8 million
ton grain shortage in 2010, almost 9 percent of the country's grain
consumption.
To prevent a shortfall in grain crops, the government said it
would strive to stabilize the total area of arable land, raise the
per-unit output? and improve farm produce quality.
The government also said it would tightly monitor the
production, consumption, inventory, imports and exports of farm
produce to secure market stability.
Last November, China's grain prices went up 4.7 percent on
average, and are expected to rise 6 percent this year.
One of the top targets for this year is to "establish an
efficient market surveillance system to be alert to risks of grain
shortfall", said the document.
College graduates encouraged to work in
countryside
?
According to the document, the central government will improve
policies and regulations that encourage more college and vocational
school graduates to start their careers in the countryside.
Rising unemployment in urban areas has made rural area a new
choice for more and more college graduates. The central government
has organized an increasing number of graduates to serve rural
development.
In June 2005, the Chinese government issued a document to guide
and encourage college graduates to work in rural areas. The
document set a goal of at least one collage graduate in each
village in three to five years.
In Beijing, a total of 2,000 college graduates were selected to
work as assistants to the village party secretary last year.
The government promised that the graduates enjoy priority in
seeking new jobs in governmental departments or large companies
after three years of service in the countryside.
The Beijing municipal government announced this month that
another 3,000 college graduates will work as village officials this
year.
The provincial government of south China's Guangdong required
all college graduates who plan to work for the government to first
receive practical training in villages.
Professor Zhou Xiaozheng of the Renmin University of China said
the high priority the central government has given rural
development has stimulated an increasing numbers of college
graduates to work in the countryside.
Farmers urged to pursue sustainable agricultural
production
China will encourage its farmers to use more
environmentally-friendly fertilizers and pesticides to reduce
pollution of the soil, rivers and lakes.
The document said the government pledges to make greater efforts
to tackle serious soil erosion in areas along the Yangtze and
Yellow Rivers to protect the nation's limited arable land.
Local governments have been ordered to restrict the amount of
arable land that is lost to urban growth and industrialization,
said the document.
Experts said the pledge is expected to guarantee the basic
livelihood of Chinese farmers who have lost their land to estate
development or industry without proper compensation.
The government also vows to use organic fertilizers and build
more water conservation projects.
Despite a series of policies aimed at improving the incomes and
lives of the country's 800 million farmers, including the
abolishment agricultural tax, rural life remains hard, the document
added.
China to facilitate farm produce exports
?
China is to provide more aid to farm produce exporters, aiming to
spur the export boom.
According to a document, China will build more farm produce
exporting bases and promote product sanitation and quality
inspection.
The government pledges to cut fees and simplify procedures on
quality inspection, giving priority to live products so they can
pass customs more rapidly.
The central government and relevant agricultural associations
will provide more training to farmers on modern agricultural
technologies and international marketing.
China has been accelerating exports of agricultural products
with exports jumping 70 percent from US$16 billion in 2001 to
US$27.18 billion in 2005.
Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed China raked in
US$31.03 billion from farm-product exports in 2006, up 14.1 percent
year on year. The ministry predicts the figure will reach US$38
billion by 2010.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)