Yang Tuan, deputy director of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Research Center of Social Policy Studies

In an interview on December 12, Yang Tuan of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told China.org.cn that while Chinese urban residents are leaving farmers further and further behind in earnings potential, the income gap among farmers themselves is steadily widening. This situation, if not kept under control by the authorities, could have damaging consequences, Ms Yang warned.

Some people in rural communities have now become entrepreneurs or large-scale producers. Certain preferential local authority policies have helped to make them increasingly rich, while others are left out in the cold. Driven by shared interests, wealthy farmers have begun to join forces with local government officers. This kind of trend could put the harmony of society at risk, Ms Yang pointed out.

Governments are there to serve all the people, not only privileged individuals or interest groups. During the policy-making process, they should not fixate on factors like economic turnover alone, but take account of local communities as a whole. It is normal for a market economy to be peopled by competing interest groups, but at this time government has the responsibility of maintaining the balance of interests among different groups and assuring that economic benefits can reach every one, Ms Yang said.

In addition, Ms Yang pointed out that due to the global financial crisis, a large number of migrant workers have lost their jobs. These former farmers, who formerly remitted a large portion of incomes home to their families, are now being forced to return to their home villages and assume their former roles. This exodus from factories to villages also poses a great challenge to the authorities.

Fortunately, central government has decided to inject 4 trillion yuan (about US$583 billion) into the economy. Infrastructure construction in the rural areas will be a beneficiary of this investment. If well spent, this money will not only provide jobs to farmers but also power the development of agriculture in general, she said.

Ms Yang believes that the key to solving China's rural problems lies in raising famers' incomes. However under current market systems, profits generated by agricultural products are filtered layer by layer and the best part goes to groups of agents rather than producers. Therefore, it is in the interests of farmers to avoid these middlemen and take their products directly to market. To this end, local governments should organize their farmers and adopt relevant measures to help them to access markets.

Ms Yang is of the opinion that there is still considerable room for growth in the market. Following the tainted milk incident, Chinese people have become much more concerned with what they eat and drink. They want to have truly green and healthy food. This will provide a huge opportunity for the agricultural sector. If the healthy food business can make a breakthrough, farmers will see their incomes rise and other related service businesses such as transportation will likewise receive a boost.

(China.org.cn by Pang Li, December 16, 2008)