In February 2015, China released No. 1 Central Document for the year, specifying measures to advance the rural reform across the board and to make agriculture stronger, the rural areas more beautiful, and farmers better off.
The main objectives of agricultural and rural development are as follows:
· Making agriculture stronger. The transformation of the agricultural development model will be accelerated in a bid to modernize agriculture. Continued efforts will be made to increase the capacity of grain production, push forward agricultural restructuring, improve the quality of agricultural products and food safety, bring into full play the driving role of sci-tech innovation in agriculture, adopt innovative methods for the distribution agricultural products, strengthen ecological governance in the agriculture sector, and enhance the capacity to fully utilize both domestic and international markets and resources.
· Making farmers better off. More policy measures will be introduced to raise farmers’ income. Priority will be given to investment in agriculture and rural areas. Measures will be taken to make agricultural subsidy policies more effective, refine the pricing regime for agricultural products, strengthen commercial services for agriculture, promote the integrated development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, expand channels for farmers to increase incomes, and press ahead with the development-oriented poverty alleviation endeavor in rural areas.
· Making the rural areas more beautiful. The new countryside initiative will be advanced to further promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas. Efforts will be made to improve rural infrastructure, public services and the living environments, and encourage private investment in rural development.
Measures will be taken in two areas to ensure and to advance agricultural and rural development.
One is promoting the rural reform across the board to unleash new impetus for development. Efforts will be stepped up to establish a new agricultural operation system, advance the reform of the collective property rights system, make steady progress in the pilot reform of the rural land system, promote the reform of the rural financial system, deepen reforms in water conservancy and forestry, accelerate the reform and development of supply and marketing cooperatives and state farms, and improve the rural governance mechanism.
The other is advancing the rule of law to ensure agricultural and rural development and the well-being of farmers. The laws concerning the protection of rural property rights, the operation of the agricultural market and the support for and protection of agriculture, rural areas and farmers will be improved to better safeguard rural reform and development.
