Shi Haiyan, a farmer in east China's Zhejiang Province, will
begin her study at the Zhejiang Forestry College after the Spring
Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.
What makes her different from other students in the college is
that the Zhejiang Provincial government will pay her two-year
tuition fees.
During her stay at the college, Shi will study the prevention
and treatment of forest diseases and insect pests, cultivation of
cash fruit trees, cultivation of medicinal herbs in mountainous
areas, raising special cash animals, cultivation of highland
vegetables and other modern farming techniques.
Shi will return to her home village of Huangjiashe in Yunhe
County to continue farming operations after she graduates from the
college.
"To boost agricultural development, farmers need to learn more
and to improve their technological skills in farming," said an
official with the Zhejiang Provincial Agriculture Bureau.
The official said that Zhejiang Province plans to train one
million farmers in agricultural know-how and practical skills in
the coming five years.
Zhejiang is not an exception among the provinces and
municipalities in the Yangtze River delta area in expanding
investment in rural economic and social development.
The Yangtze River delta is one of the leading
economically-developed regions in China. The delta includes
Shanghai Municipality and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, covering
some 100,000 square kilometers.
This year Jiangsu Province will earmark at least 20 billion yuan
(about US$2.5 billion) for rural and agricultural development and
for programs which help farmers to raise income, said Bao Guoxin,
director of the Jiangsu Provincial Finance Bureau.
Bao said, "We can cut input in other fields, but we cannot cut
financial support to the farmers."
Bao said Jiangsu would spend more than 100 billion yuan on the
development of rural education, training of the farmers, highway
construction, health projects, cultural programs and environmental
protection in the next five years.
Jiangsu's revenue reached 300 billion yuan last year.
Sources with the Shanghai Municipal government said that the
city would enhance its efforts to boost agricultural development
with industrial development methods and boost rural development
with the support of cities.
Shanghai will also speed up urbanization, modernization of
agriculture and integrated development of rural and urban areas in
the coming five years, the sources said. By the end of 2010, 75
percent of the population in rural Shanghai will live in
newly-developed cities and towns.
Local governments in the Yangtze River delta area have also
increased financial support for rural education and social
security, among others.
Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai announced that, starting this
year, they would exempt rural students from tuition fees and other
charges during the nine-year compulsory education period.
Jiangsu alone will allocate at least two billion yuan from its
revenues for the exemption subsidies. Shanghai also plans to
encourage outstanding teachers to teach students in suburban
areas.
Moreover, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have granted basic living
subsidies to all needy rural residents in their provinces. Shanghai
aims to raise the old-age pension and steadily improve medical
services for the rural people annually for the next five
years.
Granting more financial support to farmers is not simply a
revenue-sharing scheme, but a move which aims to boost rural
development and improve farmers' living standards, said Bao, the
director of the Jiangsu Provincial Finance Bureau.
(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2006)