Farmers stack cotton at a cotton purchase station in Hami, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in this Nov. 3, 2010 photo. (Photo : Reuters)
The agriculture industry and the vast Chinese population have great potential for economic growth, crucial in improving the country’s slow economy. Analysts revealed this on Wednesday, Jan. 27, after the release of a major document aimed at modernizing the sector and enhancing farmers' well-being.
Based on the annual "No. 1 document" unveiled by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, implementation of reforms to modernize the agricultural sector and improving farmers' well-being will be top priority for the government.
The document, published by the Xinhua News Agency, outlines key issues the sector faces, and provides reforms and measures to tackle the problems.
According to the publication, quickly giving farmers higher and stable income, urgently changing the conventional agricultural development path to provide an ample supply of agricultural products, and enhancing the sector's competitiveness in the international market are "historic tasks and realistic challenges" that must be completed and resolved.
According to the Global Times, the associate dean of the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development at the Renmin University of China, Zheng Fengtian, said that the government's move to improve the sector through modernization and increased farmers' income could help boost China's economy.
Furthermore, modernization of the agricultural sector could help farmers reduce production expenses and improve the quality of agricultural products, which in turn could improve market competitiveness.
Zheng said, "We all know there is a vast market for agricultural products in China."
It is evident that high production costs and backward capacity in China's agricultural sector are affecting its competitiveness negatively. Chinese consumers are increasingly turning to imported products because of the lower price/quality ration of local agricultural products.
Furthermore, Wang Sangui, a professor at the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development in Renmin University, said that the vast rural population could be a major consumer market.
Wang said, "If farmers have money to spend, it's not only good for their well-being but for the national economy as well."
