Blueprint aims to boost rural economy
China has a new strategy to boost rural incomes, Vice-Agriculture Minister Zhang Baowen said on the sidelines of the National People's Congress yesterday.
'We need a strategic restructuring of agriculture and the rural economy,' he said, pointing out that rural incomes rose by four per cent last year, reversing a downward trend in recent years.
The Government wants farmers to concentrate on raising the quality and variety of agricultural produce and to replace imports of specialised wheat and rice. Wheat imports fell from an annual average of nine million tonnes to only 800,000 tonnes in 2000.
Other farmers will be encouraged to earn more money by switching to growing cash crops, especially fruits, vegetables and flowers. 'Vegetables are already the second largest crop next to grain,' Mr Zhang said.
Dairy products are another area earmarked for accelerated growth as China's per capita consumption is well below the world average.
Mr Zhang also said the Government would back the development of township and village industries, which in recent years had been shedding labour.
China is pinning its hopes on stepping up spending on education to further the introduction of science and technology into the backward agriculture sector. The mainland needs to produce agricultural products which can pass the stringent health standards set by the European Union and other importers.
'We need to give full play to our comparative advantages,' Mr Zhang said. 'We also need to encourage competition.'
China's entry into the World Trade Organisation obliges it to gradually open up its market to imports which threaten the livelihood of an estimated 40 million farmers.
In addition, Chinese officials say the rural labour surplus stands at 150 million, many of whom are farmers keen to move to the cities if they are permitted.
Low government purchase prices after years of surplus have depressed the incomes of grain farmers. The gap with urban residents continues to widen as urban incomes are growing twice as fast as rural ones.
The drive to boost rural incomes is not only being linked to social stability, but to a strategy of boosting internal demand to soak up the overproduction of consumer goods. China has experienced deflation for the past four years. All this is forcing the Government to address the issue of the second-class status of Chinese peasants.
'Rural areas do not receive fair and equal treatment,' said Professor Chu Zhuang, a standing committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
He said the first steps were being taken to lift both the restrictions on migration and the heavy tax burden on peasants.
Professor Chu said seven administrative barriers were being abolished in order to make it easier for peasants to work in urban areas and enjoy access to education for their children, and to obtain health and pension coverage.
He also said an experiment in Anhui replacing fees with taxes would be extended to areas in 10 provinces.
