http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/01/content_10746396.htm
BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's government Sunday warned 2009 will
be "possibly the toughest year" since the turn of the century in terms
of securing economic development and consolidating the "sound
development momentum" in agriculture and rural areas.
The lingering global financial crisis and the slowdown of the
world economy had exerted an increasingly negative impact on the
Chinese economy, said the first document of the year issued jointly by
the State Council and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
China.
"The development of agriculture and rural areas in 2009 is of
special significance," it said.
"The biggest potential for boosting domestic demand lies in rural
areas; the foundation for securing steady and relative fast economic
growth is based upon agriculture; the toughest work of securing and
improving people's livelihoods stays with farmers."
In the document, the sixth of its kind to address rural problems
since 2004, the government urged authorities to take resolute measures
to avoid declining grain production and to ensure the steady expansion
of agriculture and rural stability.
MORE FISCAL INPUT
The document promised increased government input.
This year's budget for agriculture and rural development is to be
disclosed at the annual national legislative meeting scheduled in
March, but the document said more investment would come from fixed
assets investment, treasury bond issues and revenue from higher land
use taxes.
Last year, the budgeted investment in agriculture and rural
development grew 37.9 percent year-on-year to 595.55 billion yuan.
As of 2009, capital-stretched county governments in central and
western areas would no longer provide counterpart funds for public
utility construction bankrolled by central finance involving ecology,
reservoir renovation, potable water supply and irrigation.
Government-sponsored investment corporations and industrial
development funds for agriculture could be established when conditions
were mature, it said.
Subsidies would be extended to cover not only all farmers who grow
rice, wheat, corn and cotton this year, but also some who plant rape
and soybeans. Purchases of energy-efficient machinery by farmers and
stock-breeders would also be subsidized.
To improve the scale and quality of livestock and aquatic
stockbreeding, the government would also extend credit support to
breeding farms with standardized sanitation facilities. Dairy cattle
production bases would receive more fiscal input for the construction
of standardized milk collection stations.
RURAL EMPLOYMENT
The government aims to roll out social security schemes for rural
residents and strengthen the protection of farmers' land rights and
migrant rural workers' employment rights.
Millions of rural workers lost their jobs and returned home from
coastal provinces, exacerbating the severe unemployment in rural
areas.
The National Bureau of Statistics estimates that about 5 percent
of the 130 million migrant workers have returned to their homes since
late 2008. Other officials said even more migrant workers had gone
home.
The document urged local and central government departments to
adopt measures to create jobs and increase rural incomes.
Companies were asked to take on more social responsibilities and
give rural migrant workers more favorable employment treatment.
Flexible employment policies and more training chances were also
encouraged.
Meanwhile, local government departments should increase investment
to provide favorable tax and fee policies to those who lost jobs in
cities and expect to find new work in their hometowns.
The government also urged departments to map out basic pension
insurance measures suitable for rural conditions and migrant workers
to ensure their rights.
Though the premium was yet to be decided, it was clear that rural
residents would only need to pay a small fraction with governments
subsidizing the rest.
RURAL-URBAN INTEGRATION
The government vowed to narrow the widening rural-urban economic
gap.
More efforts would go to developing culture, education, health
care, and other social welfare in rural areas, inhabited by 900
million people.
The government would raise teachers' salaries, and subsidize rural
schools and students from poor families. This year, vocational school
students from financially-strained rural households and those in
agricultural majors would be exempted from tuitions fees.
The document said local governments could increase financial
subsidies to the new rural cooperative health insurance system, and
enhance construction investment in the public health care system.
Moreover, central and provincial governments would raise the
stipend for rural households to meet the state-designated minimum
subsistence standards.
MARKET MONITORING
The government also hoped to strike the balance between farm
produce supply and demand this year to prevent low prices from hurting
farmers' incomes.
The document said the authorities would closely track local and
overseas farm produce markets and use all possible measures when
necessary to secure the steady growth of rural households' income.
It urged authorities to "measure the timing and pace" of farm
produce imports and exports to avoid flooding the domestic market with
imports of farm produce and closer communication among governments,
industrial associations and enterprises.
China would also optimize its market access system this year
inline with the requirements of the World Trade Organization to allow
foreign investment in farm produce and farming materials production.
The government would modify the regulatory mechanism for farming
produce exports and imports to provide a smooth channel for
governments between different countries, associations, and enterprises
to communicate and resolve problems.
Governors would continue to be held responsible for grain
production. An evaluation system would be set up to monitor the
performance of authorities in the protection of arable land, water
resources, and macro-economic control in the production and
distribution of grain crops.
Under the document, different areas are encouraged to take the
advantage of local soil and weather conditions to increase crop
yields. For example, northeast regions and Inner Mongolia would be
encouraged to produce soybeans while the Yangtze River valley would
focus on high quality rape.
An industrial development plan in terms of oil tree plantations
would also be mapped out as soon as possible, it said.
UNDERSCORE FARMLAND LEASE, TRANSFER REFORM
The document reiterated that the government would continue with
and improve the household contract responsibility system that entrusts
the management and production of publicly-owned farmlands to
individual households through long-term contracts.
It also underscored farmers' rights to transfer their farmland use
rights to others, but farmlands were still of collective ownership,
and the land could be used only for farming.
No institutions or individuals could interfere with or force the
transfer of the land, it added.
The government encouraged local authorities to establish
organizations to provide farmers with land transfer information, legal
advice, dispute settlement and other services.
It also said the government would finish collective forestry
mechanism reform in five years, promoting a household contract system
in the management of collective forestry land and ownership of wood
nationwide.
HUGE MARKET POTENTIAL
The government would extend its rural subsidy scheme for home
appliance purchases nationwide in an effort to boost rural consumption
this year.
It would provide a 13-percent subsidy to all rural buyers of home
appliances, including color TVs, refrigerators, mobile phones, washing
machines and freezers.
A trial scheme had been conducted in 12 provinces, which had seen
a boost in home appliance sales.
More items would be added to the list if necessary, said the
document, which called for the expansion of chain stores in rural
areas and better delivery and billing systems.
It also encouraged local governments to establish rural service
centers to enhance chain store management and strengthen market
supervision.
China should "especially place priority on tapping the rural
market and developing the countryside" to alleviate the effects of the
global financial crisis, said Vice Premier Wang Qishan last month.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"World-thread" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
