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Concrete actions should be taken to implement the policy of
consolidating and strengthening agriculture as foundation of
China's national economy, and to improve the farmer's income,
according to a report adopted by the presidium of the annual
session of China's top legislature?in Beijing?Friday.
The speech by Fu Zhihuan, chairman of the Financial and Economic
Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), was made to the
NPC presidium to report his committee's examination outcome on the
planning report delivered by Ma Kai, minister of the State
Development and Reform Commission at the parliamentary session.
"To resolve the problems pertaining to agriculture, farmers and
rural areas should be made the top priority of all work, and
concrete actions be taken to implement the policy concerning the
increase in farmers' income," according to the report, which, after
adoption, will be basis for a final resolution of the NPC session
on the planning report.
The report of the NPC Financial and Economic Committee noted
that measures and targets laid down in the planning report are
"basically feasible." It proposed that the NPC session accept the
planning report. The presidium also adopted a report of the
committee that proposes accepting the government's expenditure
plan.
While positive assessment was made, the NPC's Financial and
Economic Committee report acknowledged that there are still a few
"contradictions and problems" in economic and social spheres,
including a slow growth of farmers' income, a drop in grain output,
expropriation of farmland and delayed payment of migrant laborers'
wages.
As a proposal, the report says that reform on collecting rural
tax and fees should continue and that the commitment on tax and fee
reduction should be "well implemented."
Premier Wen Jiabao told the parliament on Friday last week that
solving problems facing agriculture, rural areas and farmers was
atop priority in all government work this year.
"Once again, China's agriculture is in a crucial period of its
development," Wen underscored. "We must take more direct and
effective policies and measures to strengthen, support and protect
agriculture and increase rural incomes in line with the need to
balance urban and rural development."
The premier also announced that all taxes on special
agricultural products will be repealed except for tobacco, thus
reducing the financial burden on farmers by 4.8 billion yuan
annually. Beginning this year, the agricultural tax rate will be
reduced by more than one percentage point per year on average, and
agricultural taxes will be rescinded in five years.
To echo Premier Wen's announcement, China's top planner and
financier both set forth measures in their reports to the top
legislature last Saturday to help farmers earn more by reducing
levies and increasing investment in the countryside.
"Premier Wen has announced some specific measures to tackle the
problems of agriculture, farmers and rural economy, and many
members of the NPC are satisfied with his announcement," Wang
Mengkui, a renowned economist and vice-chairman of the NPC
Financial and Economic Committee, told Xinhua Friday.
"Many NPC members said the premier's ideas, the reduction and
exemption of tax and fees in particular, are pragmatic," he said.
"I think the first thing is to have the measures implemented."
Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that
the per-capita average disposable income of rural residents was
only 1,000 yuan (US$121) a year and their per-capita net income
rose at an annual rate of only 4 percent in 1997-2003, barely half
that of urban residents, with the urban-rural gap enlarging from
2.47:1 to 3.24:1.
A large number of farmers in remote, outlying villages are too
poor to pay their medical bills and children had to stay at home
doing farm work after finishing primary school.
Most grain growers in China have enough to eat but little money
to spend, said some NPC members.
Wang went on to say that the premier's announcements represented
only the preliminary steps. In the long run, he added,
industrialization and urbanization should be explored to resolve
the problems of agriculture, farmers and rural economy.
"Farming on small plots of land can only result in enough food
and clothing, but not prosperity," Wang said. "To fundamentally
tackle the problems, more advanced and pragmatic technologies
should be transferred to the rural areas and more rural laborers
should work on the non-farming sectors."
(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2004)
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