The Chinese government will spend 339.7 billion yuan (US$42
billion) in agriculture, rural areas and farmers this year, which
is 42.2 billion yuan, or 14.18 percent, more than last year,
Premier Wen
Jiabao said on Sunday.
The target, along with plans to shift the government's priority
in infrastructure investment to the countryside, to completely
rescind agricultural tax and to increase input in rural education
and medical care, signifies the drive to "build a socialist new
countryside" will unravel in all fronts this year, observers
say.
"We need to implement a policy of getting industry to support
agriculture and cities to support the countryside, strengthen
support for agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and continue
making reforms in rural systems and innovations in rural
institutions to bring about a rapid and significant change in the
overall appearance of the countryside," Wen said in a report on the
work of the government at the annual session of the national
legislature.
To build the "new countryside," the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China has set objectives including "enhanced
productive forces, higher living standards, civilized living style,
an orderly and clean environment, and democratic
administration."
China is an agricultural country traditionally, and old-style
farming lasted for thousands of years in most areas. Like any other
countries, China had drawn a huge sum of funds for industry
development from agriculture and rural areas in the initial stage
of industrialization and urbanization since 1949, resulting in
yawning gap between the city and the countryside.
To narrow the gap, the government has kept increasing central
fiscal expenditure on agriculture, rural areas and farmers over the
last few years. In 2005, the fund from the central budget and
T-bond proceeds to support agriculture, rural areas and farmers
reached 297.5 billion yuan (US$36.7 billion), which was 34.9
billion yuan more than in 2004 and over 100 billion yuan more
thanin 2002. The capital inputs of many localities for this purpose
also reached a record high.
This year, said Wen in the report, priority will be given to
developing modern agriculture and promoting steady expansion of
grain production and sustained increase in farmers' incomes.
"We will further increase direct subsidies to grain producers,
subsidies for growing superior grain cultivars, and subsidies for
agricultural machinery and tools," Wen said.
"We need to resolutely work to reorient investment by shifting
the government's priority in infrastructure investment to the
countryside. This constitutes a major change," he said.
The fund will be mainly used for strengthening basic development
of farmland, accelerating construction of infrastructure projects
such as roads, drinking water supplies, methane facilities, power
grids and communications.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2006)