Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu, who made a study tour of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region February 16-19, has urged farmers to keep up their fight against bird flu while firmly do a good job of farming to increase their incomes.

The vice-premier visited Dingdang Town, Long'an County, where China's first bird flu case was reported, and Beihu Horticultural Farm, Nanning City, where another bird flu case was discovered later.

Hui visited villagers' homes to ask if they had been compensated by local governments after measures were taken to prevent the spread of the disease. Efforts must be made to prevent the infection of humans by bird flu, he stressed.

Meanwhile, the official also visited a number of poultry farms, farm produce markets, border passes and animal quarantine stations. He urged all localities that have not detected bird flu so far to be on high alert against the disease.

Meanwhile, the central policies for increasing farmers' incomes must be implemented in earnest, so as to encourage their enthusiasm for growing grain, Hui said.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2004)