REGIONAL> Development
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REGIONAL> Development
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Infrastructure and agricultural investment set to boost Jilin
By Liu Mingtai (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-24 07:28
Agricultural development Aside from infrastructure investment, agricultural development has also been identified as one of the province's funding priorities. Located in the fertile "black soil belt", Jilin is one of the most important grain production centers in China. Sustaining and developing its output, whilst raising the living standards of its rural population, is seen as an essential measure in both stimulating market demand and driving economic growth. In 2008, the provincial government announced an ambitious plan to increase Jilin's grain production by more than 5 million tonnes over a five year period - taking it from the current per annum level of 28.4 million tonnes to 33.4 million tonnes. The plan was rubber-stamped by the State Council last year and was officially incorporated into the national grain safety strategy, aimed at boosting China's grain reserves over the next five years. Additional funding will now be made available to implement the plan, with a number of projects - including irrigation, farmland improvement, seed improvement and the promotion of modern farming equipments and techniques- already having been given the go-ahead. Han said that the countryside of Jilin was a potentially huge market for consumer goods, as well as having great scope for developing its domestic workforce. He said that solving the problems relating to agriculture and rural development was the key to unlocking the province's potential for long-term sustainable growth. He also indicated that measures were now in place for tackling one of the province's most pressing problems - the large number of formerly migrant workers returning to their rural homes following lay-offs from many of the manufacturing plants in China's coastal areas, early casualties of the global economic downturn Han assured that one of the provincial government's top priorities was to help these people back into work. He said these returning workers would be offered re-training opportunities, designed to make them more versatile and employable in the workplace. He added that that those workers who had acquired new skills whilst working in China's more developed regions should be welcomed back as their abilities could be put to good use as part of Jilin's move toward a massive industrial revitalization. The province is also expected to create 420,000 new jobs this year and aims to ensure that each family has at least one member in full-time employment. He promised that the re-training and re-deployment of returned migrant workers was part of Jilin's plan to promote rural development and stimulate rural market demand throughout the province. The plan would also see considerable expenditure on developing infrastructure facilities in many of the more badly served rural areas. Further attempts to develop the area's agrarian economy would also see farmers offered subsidies to allow greater investment in crop plantation, improved seed stocks and more efficient and modern farming equipment. Subsidies would also be offered to those businesses selling electrical appliances in the rural areas, the governor stated. Social security Underpinning the national and provincial level proposals, said Han, was a commitment to raising the standard of living for people throughout Jilin, as well as ensuring that the economic growth necessary for this could be delivered in a sustainable way. To achieve this, he said, a cover-all social security system would be made freely available to all local residents. It is believed that this financial "safety net" will reduce the financial anxieties of many of the province's citizens and ultimately increase their willingness to spend. This year, the province will continue to extend its social security system, opening it up to cover more categories and include more people. It will include pension provision for the retired and elderly, as well as medical insurance, unemployment insurance, free education and a guarantee of a minimum living standard for low-income families.
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