China has a new strategy to boost rural incomes, Vice-Agriculture Minister Zhang Baowen said on the sidelines of the National People's Congress yesterday.
'We need a strategic restructuring of agriculture and the rural economy,' he said, pointing out that rural incomes rose by four per cent last year, reversing a downward trend in recent years.
The Government wants farmers to concentrate on raising the quality and variety of agricultural produce and to replace imports of specialised wheat and rice. Wheat imports fell from an annual average of nine million tonnes to only 800,000 tonnes in 2000.
Other farmers will be encouraged to earn more money by switching to growing cash crops, especially fruits, vegetables and flowers. 'Vegetables are already the second largest crop next to grain,' Mr Zhang said.
Dairy products are another area earmarked for accelerated growth as China's per capita consumption is well below the world average.
Mr Zhang also said the Government would back the development of township and village industries, which in recent years had been shedding labour.
China is pinning its hopes on stepping up spending on education to further the introduction of science and technology into the backward agriculture sector. The mainland needs to produce agricultural products which can pass the stringent health standards set by the European Union and other importers.