China's rural economy has entered a new stage after renewed
efforts to accelerate the development of rural areas, a National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report said.
As the Communist Party of China moves to build a new
countryside, a mechanism aimed at long-term social and economic
development in rural areas has been put in place, said the report,
published on the bureau's website.
The bureau said that since the Party convened the 16th National
Congress in 2002, the country has strengthened the role of
agriculture in the national economy by raising farming
capacity.
China's grain output has grown for three consecutive years from
2004 to 2006, the first time since 1985. Grain output increased by
a total of 66.75 million tons during that period. In 2006, unit
grain output reached 314 kg, a historical high.
Output of major economic crops also increased. In 2006, for
example, cotton output increased by 37.2 percent compared with
2002.
Farmers have become a major beneficiary of the fast-growing
rural economy, the report said.
In 2006, farmers' per capita net income was 3,587 yuan, 1,111
yuan more than in 2002, an increase of 44 percent. Year-on-year
growth in the per capita net income of rural residents rose from
4.8 percent in 2002 to 7.4 percent in 2006, the report said.
As the rural economy develops, farmers' income will evolve, the
report said.
Their income will increasingly come from salary, or income from
non-farming work, instead of farming.
Income from non-farming work accounted for 38.3 percent of their
overall income in 2006, 4.4 percentage points more than in 2002,
the report said.
The rising income level has provided an impetus for farmers to
spend more to improve living standards, the report said.
Their per capita living expenses increased to 2,829 yuan in 2006
from 1,834 yuan in 2002, up 54.2 percent.
The rural Engel coefficient, or proportion of expenditure on
food to total consumption, an international measurement of people's
living standards, was 43 percent in 2006, 3.2 percentage points
lower than 2002. It indicated improved structure of rural
consumption, the report said.
The entertainment, health and transportation expenditures of
rural residents increased rapidly.
Electrical appliances and IT products are becoming more popular
in rural areas, the report said, which point to farmers'
strengthened purchasing power.
The number of poverty-stricken people is on the decline thanks
to the rapid increase in farmers' income, the report said.
In 2006, there were 21.48 million poor people with an annual
income of less than 693 yuan, 6.72 million less than 2002.
The authorities have attached more importance on the quality of
agricultural products during the past four years, the NBS said.
Rural areas' industrial structure has become more rational. The
proportion of agriculture in the rural economy in terms of output
dropped by 0.9 percentage points to 29.6 percent. That of industry
rose by 1.9 percentage points to 54.8 percent. While the proportion
of agriculture is on the decline, forestry and livestock breeding
is on the rise.
The quality of agricultural products has improved, the report
said. The proportion of high-quality rice strains reached 69.1
percent in 2006. Wheat, corn and soybeans were 55.2 percent, 42
percent and 65.7 percent respectively.
The non-farming industries have boomed in the rural areas during
the 2003-06 period, which has helped push rural economic growth,
the report said.
Some rural township enterprises and manufacturers of
agricultural products have strengthened their competitive edge by
focusing on local advantage and producing organic products, the
report said.
In 2006, township enterprises registered a turnover of 24.68
trillion yuan, up 90.2 percent from 2002.
From 2003 to 2006, authorities increased spending on social
causes in rural areas, the report said.
The State has initiated a new cooperative healthcare program in
rural areas, where farmers shoulder just one-third of insurance
costs while central and local governments share the remaining
two-thirds.
By the end of 2006, 1,451 counties nationwide, or more than half
of all counties, had started the program, which has benefited a
total of 410 million farmers, almost half of the rural
population.
The rural population covered by the rural minimum living
allowance regime increased to 15.93 million in 2006, about four
times that of 2002.
The State has also exempted students receiving nine-year
compulsory education in the western regions from paying tuition
starting from 2006 and offered grants to those from
poverty-stricken families.
The new policy will have far-reaching influence on rural
education and reduction in farmers' financial burden, the NBS said
in the report.
(China Daily September 27, 2007)
