December 31, 2004

 

 

China Aims To Boost Grain Output, Farmers' Incomes

 

China plans to continue its efforts to boost grain output and farmers' incomes in 2005, state media reported late Wednesday.

 

Grain production and farmers' incomes improved this year mainly thanks to government incentives, higher grain prices and good weather.

 

In a meeting on rural affairs held Dec. 28-29, the ruling Communist Party called for measures to strengthen comprehensive agriculture production capacity and to ensure sustainable growth in grain production and farmers' incomes in 2005, reported the official Xinhua News Agency.

 

The party asked for moves such as more tax cuts in the agriculture sector, more subsidies to farmers, and increased support to improve agriculture infrastructure and advance agricultural technologies, said the report.

 

The party meeting usually precedes a similar government meeting and sets the tone for government policies.

 

In a national agriculture meeting that also ended Dec. 29, Agriculture Minister Du Qinglin said the goal for the agriculture sector in 2005 is to steadily increase grain production and farmer's incomes, according to a separate Xinhua report.

 

Specifically, the minister said his department will take actions such as maintaining farmland and improving its quality, developing quality grain varieties, promoting agricultural technologies, helping enterprises in towns and villages and implementing standardization.

 

China's grain production has been declining since it hit a record high of 512 million metric tons in 1998, largely due to reduced acreage amid depressed grain prices.

 

But as grain prices rallied in late 2003 due to tightening domestic supplies, the government started to encourage grain production with incentives such as tax cuts and direct subsidies on grain planting.

 

Grain output is expected to have risen to more than 455 million tons in 2004, up more than 24 million tons over 2003, and farmers' per capita net income is said to have risen by the government target of 5%.

 

Still, as the country's annual grain demand is estimated to be over 490 million tons, that leaves a gap of more than 35 million tons to be filled by carryover stocks or imports.

 

For 2005, China has set a grain output target of 465 million tons.

 

Income growth for farmers has long been trailing that of urban residents except for a few good years in the early 1980s after China dismantled its agriculture commune systems.

 

Farmers' incomes have grown about 4% on average each year for the past seven years, while city dwellers have enjoyed an average income growth rate of more than 8%, according to Chen Xiwen, a senior official with the Chinese Community Party, in June.