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Central documents target rural issues

(China Daily/Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-02 07:47

The first policy document of the year, issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, the country's Cabinet, is called the "No 1 central document". This is the seventh consecutive year the document has focused on rural problems. The six former documents addressed these issues:

The No 1 central document issued on Feb 1, 2009, was themed on "achieving steady agricultural development and sustained income increases for farmers".

The document highlighted challenges posed by the global downturn to agricultural and rural development.

In the document, the government urged the taking of resolute measures to avoid declining grain production and to ensure the steady expansion of agriculture and rural stability.

The No 1 central document issued on Jan 30, 2008, took "fortifying the foundation of agriculture" as its theme.

The document ordered the rapid development of an enduring mechanism for consolidating the foundation of agriculture and more efforts to guarantee grain product safety and a balance between supply and demand, and between various grain products.

The No 1 central document issued on Jan 29, 2007, focused on "developing modern agriculture and steadily promoting the construction of a new socialist countryside".

It said "developing modern agriculture is the Chinese government's top priority in building a new socialist countryside, and has proven to be the basic channel through which farmers' incomes can be increased".

The document also advocated the establishment of a mechanism to secure stable sources of capital from both government and financial institutions.

The No 1 central document issued on Feb 21, 2006, aimed at constructing a new socialist countryside".

To achieve the goals, China must step up efforts in coordinating the development of urban and rural areas, developing modern agriculture, boosting farmers' incomes, enhancing rural infrastructure, promoting social causes in rural areas and deepening rural reforms,.

The No 1 central document issued on Jan 30, 2005, took "strengthening rural work and improving the overall production capacity of agriculture" as its theme.

Agriculture remained a weak link in the national economy and was plagued with a lack of investment, a fragile foundation and lack of a long-term mechanism aimed at boosting grain output and farmers' incomes.

To solve the problems, China should bring into full play the farmers and local governments' initiatives of increasing grain production. The document included 27 detailed measures to ensure financial, government and technological support for the agriculture sector.

The No 1 central document issued on Feb 8, 2004, took "boosting farmers' incomes" as its theme.

The document said that "among the many problems facing agricultural and rural development, the difficulty of increasing farmers' incomes is the most prominent".