The per capita income of Chinese farmers rose a year-on-year 4.2
percent to 2,366.4 yuan (US$285) in 2001, the
National Bureau of
Statistics said Tuesday.
"This means the growth in farmers' per capita income has begun to
pick up after several years of decline," a spokesman with the
bureau said.
He
added the farmers' per capita income rose a year-on-year 2.1
percent to 2,253 yuan (US$271) in 2000.
But the growth in rural incomes is still lower than the 8.5 percent
growth achieved by urban residents, which stood at 6,860 yuan
(US$827) per capita in 2001, the spokesman said.
Also Tuesday, Premier Zhu Rongji said in his government's work
report delivered at the opening of the annual session of the
National People's Congress that developing the agricultural
productive forces and raising farmers' purchasing power is an
important aspect of the effort to stimulate domestic demand.
An
increase in farmers' income and reduction in their burden will be
important criteria for judging the agricultural and rural work, he
said.
Xie Yang, a senior researcher with the Development Research Center
under the State Council, said the slow growth of farmers' income
has long been a headache for the government.
"If consumption in rural areas cannot be stimulated, the full
expansion of domestic demand, a strong engine for economic growth,
will not be realized," he said.
Slow income growth will hinder overall economic development and
even undermine social stability, he said.
The government should further spread the "tax-for-fees" reform to
reduce farmers' financial burden, said Ni Hongri, another senior
researcher with the center.
Ni
said the reform - which is now being carried out in more than 10
provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions - is aimed at
reducing farmers' tax burdens by abolishing assorted fees and
charges, thus increasing these people's income.
On
the other hand, the government needs to encourage farmers to adjust
the agricultural structure.
The government also needs to simplify the administrative structure
in rural areas, Xie said.
"Institutional reform is the key to increasing farmers' income and
reducing their financial burdens," he said.
He
added the reform should include the removal of township
governments, giving farmers a bigger say in managing village
affairs, invigorating county economies and cutting the size of
government institutions in rural areas by a large margin.
"The government should encourage farmers to leave, as farmland in
China cannot accommodate so many farmers," Xie said.
(China Daily March 6,
2002)