China to push integrated development in rural areas

Updated: 2016-01-28 00:17

(Xinhua)

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China to push integrated development in rural areas

A Tibetan farmer works in a barley field in Nedong county, Shannan prefecture, Tibet. [Photo By Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily]

BEIJING-- China aims to increase farmers' incomes by pushing integrative development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural regions, according to a policy document released on Wednesday by the central authorities.

Technological innovation should advance the processing of agricultural products, thus, bringing more income to farmers. Specifically, the processing industry should develop its own equipment while outdated processing enterprises should be eliminated.

An unified, open, competitive market for modern agricultural products needs to be established to promote agricultural products. To this end, logistics cost will be reduced while rural e-commerce will be encouraged, the document says.

Officials also called for more promotion of rural destinations, as tourism could offer alternate income streams. The government will offer subsidies to infrastructure projects in key rural destinations while guiding private capital to projects that are beneficial for farmers.

In order to let rural households share the profits of every step of the industrial chain including production, processing, and sales, new mechanisms such as distributing shares of leading firms to farmers should be encouraged, according to the document.

The income level of rural residents has seen steady growth in the past few years. In 2015, the rural per capita disposable income increased 8.9 percent year on year to 11,422 yuan ($1,743), continuing from a 11.2-percent growth seen in 2014.

Related: China to boost green agriculture

China will encourage sustainability in agriculture through improved efficiency and environmental protection, according to the document.

Policies and technological support will be improved to protect agricultural resources and raise efficiency in using them, preventing the resources from being tapped excessively and extensively, according to the document.

China will follow its "red-line" system strictly to guarantee that the amount of land dedicated to arable farming shall never shrink to less than 120 million hectares.H Farmland will be protected in "quantity, quality and biodiversity," it said, reiterating a ban on turning woodland into farmland.

Policies and technology should be improved to prevent further pollution in agricultural production and support will be given to recycling farming.

Biodiversity protection will be boosted. By 2020, woodland coverage will be above 23 percent and wetland acrage will be above 53 million hectares.

In order to boost food safety, China will make its national standards on the residue of pesticide and veterinary drugs in food to be on par with international standards by 2020, according to the document, which was released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

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