China pledges more cash for farming
Print Edition
CHINA plans to increase spending on agriculture in an effort to boost rural development, it was announced yesterday.
“The agricultural sector will be a key area for fixed-asset investment,” said a policy document released by the Party’s Central Committee and the State Council that focused on the work needed to speed up modernization in rural areas.
The government will channel more funds to poor farmers, irrigation programs, industrial convergence and wholesale produce markets, the document said.
Financial aid is pledged in key areas that include farmland protection and increasing grain production.
The government will also encourage financial institutions to make more loans to agriculture businesses.
Rural workers will be given more support to better integrate into cities and find employment, the document said, and the government will encourage rural workers to find jobs or establish their own businesses in nearby regions. The migrant rural labor force will be stabilized and expanded and rural workers offered support to start businesses in their hometowns.
County-level economies and rural service industries will be improved, while more training will be offered to rural workers.
The document said funds should be established to support women working in the countryside, and they should have better access to small loans and training.
In addition, it outlined that hukou (household registration) reforms, which will see 100 million rural workers secure urban residential status, must be expedited.
Basic public services should be expanded to cover all permanent city residents, it said, calling for education and housing benefits for migrant rural workers.
After they become registered residents, rural workers’ land rights should be protected and support given to those who transfer their land rights, according to the document.
Meanwhile, China will apply “new development concepts” in its efforts to make agricultural modernization more efficient, inclusive and environmentally friendly, the document said.
It vowed marked progress in agricultural modernization by 2020 to ensure the building of a moderately prosperous society.
Output capacity should be improved to ensure grain security and supply, while the urban-rural income gap must be narrowed.
According to the document, China will create at least 53 million hectares of high-quality farmland by 2020. It will be highly productive to ensure stable yields, cultivated in an environmentally friendly manner and able to withstand floods and droughts.
Water resource management will be tightened and groundwater levels closely watched.
China will follow its “red-line” system and guarantee that land dedicated to farming never shrinks to less than 120 million hectares.
By 2020, woodland coverage will be above 23 percent and wetland acreage will be above 53.33 million hectares. More farmland will be turned into forests or pastures.
New national standards on food safety will be prioritized and standards on pesticides residues and veterinary drugs will reach the international standards by 2020, according to the document
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