|
|
NPC & CPPCC Annual Sessions > Biz & Economy > News
|
'Grim times for rural earnings'By Fu Jing, Si Tingting and Zhang Qi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-04 08:03
Chinese farmers have met mounting difficulties in increasing their disposable income this year mainly due to growing factory closures and fewer job opportunities, a leading agricultural expert warned yesterday.
"With less job opportunities for migrant workers in the cities, income of farmers as a whole will suffer a sizable loss," said Song Hongyuan, director of the Research Center for the Rural Economy in the Ministry of Agriculture during an exclusive interview with China Daily.
"It's highly possible that this year's income growth of farmers will be less than last year's," he said. Income earned by migrant workers contributes to more than half of the income of the entire rural population. Official statistics indicate that China has more than 230 million migrants, and so far more than 10 million are jobless due to the effects of the global financial crisis. Song said the government will unveil more farm support measures at tomorrow's opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress, including subsidies and training opportunities. The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) recently said that the government would grant 20 billion yuan in subsidies in 2009 to boost electronic appliance sales in rural areas. Song's analysis of the rural situation has been echoed by China's highest leadership, which recently said that this year would be "the toughest year" so far this century for the rural economy given falling produce prices and the grim employment situation.
China's grain output in 2009 may not surpass the record high achieved last year because of the worst drought in half a century, said Song. He said 2009's summer wheat harvest is unlikely to be good because 40 percent of the nation's total wheat land is heavily affected by the drought. But he said it is too early to predict the autumn harvest, which makes up the lion's share of the country's total grain yield. China saw bumper harvests for five straight years, the grain yield in 2008 reached 528.5 million tons and the annual growth rate was 5.4 percent. The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast that there was still uncertainty over the weather in spring. "The weather can become worse than we think, and we must be fully prepared," CMA's Chief Zheng Guoguang said in February. So far, the government has provided 86.7 billion yuan in subsidies to farmers in drought-hit provinces and increased this year's minimum purchasing price of wheat by 0.11 yuan per kg to raise farmers' income. "Hopefully, all the measures will work to minimize the damages brought by abnormal weather," said Song. For more on Song's insight, visit m.szjzcy.com
|
       |
主站蜘蛛池模板： 嘉义县| 洛扎县| 仙居县| 安化县| 松桃| 溧阳市| 临海市| 连州市| 无锡市| 普宁市| 天津市| 望江县| 老河口市| 施甸县| 马关县| 聂拉木县| 皋兰县| 墨玉县| 油尖旺区| 尖扎县| 宿迁市| 兴隆县| 大兴区| 昌都县| 高邮市| 潮州市| 库车县| 大足县| 安康市| 黑山县| 双桥区| 南岸区| 白水县| 犍为县| 东安县| 扎鲁特旗| 和平县| 肇州县| 黔东| 封丘县| 乌鲁木齐县| 岳阳市| 三都| 察隅县| 会宁县| 米林县| 娱乐| 富顺县| 德令哈市| 织金县| 鸡东县| 台山市| 黄梅县| 收藏| 涿鹿县| 安仁县| 澳门| 江北区| 大英县| 前郭尔| 衡南县| 抚州市| 南漳县| 桂林市| 凤翔县| 绵竹市| 稻城县| 永新县| 孝义市| 大邑县| 黄山市| 巴塘县| 南皮县| 鄂托克前旗| 开鲁县| 察隅县| 建湖县| 蒙阴县| 福泉市| 秭归县| 房产| 黄陵县|
