Q: China's agriculture and rural reform are now at a new
stage of development. What are the main features of the stage? What
is the focus of the current round of rural reforms?
A: After 20 years of reform and development, China's agriculture
and rural economy have reached a new stage of development. This
stage is characterized by a dramatic change in supply and demand of
agricultural products; more than one-third of the rural labor force
has been transferred to non-agricultural sectors; half of farmers'
income comes from those sectors; and the country's agriculture has
become more and more integrated with world agriculture.
The current round of agricultural reforms will focus on the
following four aspects:
First, the government will stabilize the household contract
responsibility system and protect farmers' legal rights by
improving land management mechanism and land distribution and
acquisition system.
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Second, the State will expand the agricultural tax exemption to
further ease the burden on farmers.
Third, the State will encourage the market-oriented reform of
the grain distribution mechanism. Direct subsidies for
grain-producers will increase; minimum purchasing price will be
imposed in major grain-producing areas on varieties that are in
short supply; and rewards and subsidies will be given, in the form
of transfer payments, to main grain-producing counties according to
sowing areas, output and the amount of commodity grain.
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Fourth, the State will reform rural financing system, with the aim
to increase financial support for rural households and rural
enterprises. The increase in State budgetary expenditure and in
fixed asset investment will be further tipped towards farmers,
agriculture and rural areas in order to establish a stable
financial system to ensure increased input in agriculture. Starting
from 2005, a special fund will be set up to facilitate construction
of small water conservancy projects, while continuing to finance
construction of medium- and large-scale water conservancy
works.
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Women in a handcraft workshop in Tancheng
County, Shandong Province, are busy at their work. Straw products
from the county exported to overseas markets.