The central government yesterday released its first major
document on the building of a new socialist countryside, the
primary task in the
11th Five-Year Guidelines period (2006-10).
It embraces ideas set forth by the Communist Party of China
(CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, and reflects the
government's determination to solve problems related to farmers,
and the development of agriculture and rural areas.
The next five years will be key to laying a solid foundation for
building the new socialist countryside. The plan aims to boost
modern agriculture; develop new relationships between industry and
agriculture, cities and the countryside; and increase rural
affluence.
The main tasks listed in the document include:
- Plan economic and social development in urban and rural areas
as a whole
- Develop modern agriculture
- Ensure a sustained increase in farmers' income
- Increase infrastructure construction and improve public
services in the countryside
- Improve democracy in rural areas as well as rural
management
- Motivate the entire society to participate in the construction
of the new countryside.
- To increase rural income, more subsidies will be provided to
farmers, which will partly be used to buy improved strains of crops
and farming machinery.
The document encourages governments to develop township
enterprises in line with industrial policies, accelerate the
migration of the rural labor force and develop small towns.
It also calls for a long-term plan for the industrial sector to
support agriculture.
The essence of the policy is to bring about a change from
agriculture supporting industry, to industry supporting
agriculture.
This will be accomplished by enhancing fiscal support to
agriculture and narrowing the income gap between rural and urban
residents, experts say.
The document makes clear that the focus of infrastructure
investment should shift from cities to the countryside. All rural
towns in China will have road access by the year 2010.? The
plan also sets out measures to ensure safe drinking water for
farmers and the use of clean energies, encouraging more rural
households to use marsh gas.
Rural power grids will also be upgraded and more small
hydropower stations will be built. Agricultural information
infrastructure development will include enhanced radio and TV
service s in villages.
According to the document, China will enhance tax revenue from
land lease or land-use fees and invest it in agriculture and the
countryside. Fees levied on land lease will be mainly invested in
the construction of irrigation facilities.
"Spending a portion of revenues from land-use fees on
agriculture is a practical way to increase investment in the
countryside," according to Han Jun, an expert on rural affairs.
In recent years, local governments have made a lot of money
charging industry developers land-use fees but that revenue has
been used mostly for urban construction, Han added.
The document also provides that farmers must be properly
compensated when their land is acquired for non-agricultural
purposes.
It also calls for improved vocational training and employment
opportunities for farmers who lose their land.
Land grabs where farmers are not adequately compensated are an
issue of major concern.
Premier Wen
Jiabao has warned that "historical mistakes should never be
repeated on the land issue."
The document stresses: "We must resolutely implement the most
strict arable-land protection system and effectively protect basic
farmland and the rights of farmers."
The government will improve the system that allows rural
households to contract and use farmland, it says.
With more than 800 million people living in the countryside, the
only way to ensure a sustainable development of the national
economy is to develop the rural economy and help farmers become
more affluent.
The Chinese government will also plough more money into medical
care for more than 800 million rural dwellers in 2006.
Different levels of governments will increase investment for
township-level hospitals and other medical help for farmers to
better control epidemic and endemic diseases, and diseases that
attack both humans and livestock.
It said the budget for training rural doctors will also rise,
calling for urban doctors to work part-time in rural areas and
various non-government bodies to get involved in medical care in
the countryside.
In terms of education, the document said that primary and junior
high school students in the rural west will be exempt from tuition
and other education expenses this year, and similar policies will
be implemented in other areas from 2007.
Other beneficial measures outlined in China's first major policy
document for 2006 include free textbooks and partial payment of
living expenses for students from impoverished families.
The document also called on local governments to raise the
overall training and education of farmers. "To ensure the
development of the countryside more capable farmers are urgently
needed."
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency?February 22,
2006)
