Chinese Minister of Agriculture Chen Yaobang
said on January 5 that restructuring the country's
agriculture and rural economy while helping raise the income
of farmers will be a priority in 2000.
China
will accelerate the reform by developing rural enterprises
and strengthening agricultural infrastructure. Chen said
that China will also accelerate the innovation and
popularization of agricultural technology and improve its
poverty relief work.
The Ministry has set a
target of 490 million tons of grain, 3.2 million tons of
cotton, 60 million tons of meat, and over 40 million tons of
aquatic products for 2000. Chen has also set a target of
over 14 percent growth in rural enterprises, a 4 percent net
increase of farmers' income and bringing more than 10
million people out of poverty in rural areas.
In 1999, China's agriculture and rural economy
maintained a steady growth despite a slump in the farm
produce market at home and abroad as well as severe floods
and droughts that hit many parts of the country.
Chen particularly stressed restructuring the
agriculture sector and the rural economy which are important
in keeping up with the global economy and liberalization of
trade. Rural businesses and towns need to develop further
and more jobs are needed for a growing number of surplus
farmers.
The production of farm products
should meet the demand of the market, said Chen, adding that
traditional farming methods which focus only on quantity
should be abandoned. "Cereal production in
economically-developed regions can be reduced according to
market demand, but cultivated land should be
protected."
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