Full text: Report on China's economic, social development plan


(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-18 15:00
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3. We will further improve our work relating to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, and consolidate the foundation for developing agriculture and rural areas and increasing rural incomes.

1) We will promote steady increases in grain production and strive to make 2011 the eighth consecutive year of good harvests. We will comprehensively strengthen measures for stimulating the development of grain and agricultural production; implement an initiative to sustain steady growth in grain production nationwide; improve the reward policy for major grain-producing counties; carry out an intensive campaign to grow high-yield crops; increase government rewards and subsidies for village-level public works projects, the launching of which are determined by the villagers through deliberation; fully arouse the initiative of governments at all levels to give high priority to agriculture and grain production as well as rural residents' enthusiasm for farming and grain production; and work very hard to ensure another year of good harvests. In 2011, we will strive to maintain grain output at over 500 million tons; increase the output of cotton, oilseed, sugar crops, meat and aquatic products to reach 6.8 million, 32.5 million, 125 million, 80 million and 54.3 million tons, respectively, up 13.9%, 0.3%, 3.8%, 0.9% and 1.2% from last year.

2) We will strengthen the construction of agricultural and rural infrastructure with the focus on water conservancy. We will faithfully implement the guiding principles of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Party Central Committee and Decree No.1 issued by the Central Committee this year, and draw up major policies for the reform and development of water conservancy. We will move faster to harness small and medium-sized rivers and reinforce dilapidated reservoirs, and strengthen prevention and control of geological disasters from mountain torrents, development of flood storage and retention areas, and construction of key drought-relief projects in southwest China and other areas. We will accelerate the implementation of projects to build auxiliary facilities and upgrade water-saving devices in irrigated areas, and comprehensively intensify work on key agricultural irrigation and water conservancy projects and farmland improvement projects. We will press ahead with projects for developing high-quality farmland and allocating water resources. We will continue work on comprehensive rural land development. We will improve working and living conditions in rural areas. In 2011, we will solve the issue of providing safe drinking water for another 60 million rural residents, raising the percentage of the rural population with access to safe drinking water to 77%; vigorously develop methane projects in rural areas, and strive to increase the number of rural households that use methane to 43.25 million by the end of the year, 3.25 million more than last year; carry out a new round of upgrading of rural power grids and more quickly extend power grids to areas without electricity; continue our support for the development of rural highways; expand efforts to renovate dilapidated rural houses, with the target set at more than 1.5 million this year; and successfully implement the project to build permanent homes for nomadic herdsmen.

3) We will increase overall agricultural production capacity. We will strictly protect arable land, keep the total crop acreage stable, and work hard to increase per unit yield. We will accelerate implementation of the plan to increase national grain production capacity by 50 million tons, and support northeast China in its effort to increase its production capacity of japonica rice and corn. We will strengthen development of sugar crop production bases; demonstration bases for drought-resistant agriculture; quality cotton production bases in Xinjiang; and cotton production bases in the Yellow, Huai, Hai and Yangtze river basins. We will vigorously develop canola production bases in the Yangtze River basin; oil-bearing peanut production bases in the Yellow, Huai and Hai river basins; and soybean production bases in northeast China and Inner Mongolia. We will support large cities in developing vegetable supply bases. We will support the development of large-scale, standardized hog and dairy cow farms and the system for cultivating superior breeds of livestock, poultry and aquatic products. We will vigorously develop protected agriculture. We will increase investment in agricultural scientific research and the application of research results. We will carry out unified, specialized prevention and control of crop diseases and pests, and comprehensively prevent and control major animal epidemics. We will tighten oversight of the quality and safety of agricultural products. We will strengthen fishery administration and improve fishing ports.

4) We will strive to facilitate a continuous increase in rural incomes. We will raise the floor prices for major grain varieties. When new grain goes on the market, we will raise the price of wheat by 5 to 7 yuan per 50 kilograms and increase the price of rice by 9 to 23 yuan per 50 kilograms. We will keep expanding the scale of agricultural subsidies and raise their standards. We will implement a dynamic mechanism for adjusting general subsidies for agricultural supplies in step with price rises in agricultural supplies such as fertilizer and diesel fuel. We will give strong support to specialized farmer cooperatives, various service organizations in rural areas, and leading industrialized agricultural production enterprises, and actively develop agricultural sectors that have local advantages as well as the agricultural product processing industry. We will strengthen county economies. We will improve vocational training and employment guidance services for rural migrant workers and protect their rights and interests.