Problems found

Besides building new houses, some villages have invested heavily to beautify their forests. But the survey found that the most urgent need was to build waste management facilities.

The survey also found that few villages spent money on any cultural offerings as many village leaders thought that investment in this area wouldn't yield any economic benefits.

"But a public place for cultural life, such as a public library, is needed in most of the villages we surveyed, especially by the elderly and women," Ye noted.

Because of a lack of entertainment options, for example, many villagers choose gambling as their only way of killing time, which has tragic consequences.

The system of model villages also seemed to be a problem in Ye's survey as selecting and building models is generally based on villages that are already well off.

"Their development experience cannot be copied by other villages," the research group quoted surveyed farmers as saying. "Also, input focusing on model villages may lead to a further imbalance of resources."

The survey also found that although the central government is investing hugely in the new countryside programme, governmental bureaux above the village level have already misused those funds.

Therefore, farmers said they experienced trouble getting loans for their agricultural products.

More than two-thirds of the farmers said they could not get sufficient investment in their land despite a willingness to develop it.

According to Ye, the central government's guidelines for new countryside development might be well-intended, but enforcement by local governments might change the original direction.

For instance, most of the township cadres are born and live in the city and can't feel the hardship and demand of the villagers. What they care about are the big projects that can yield economic benefits and earn them higher regard from higher officials.

According to Ye, the fundamental reason behind the neglect of the farmers' interest is that it is the higher-level government officials, not they, who evaluate the performance of the local-level cadres.

"If the farmers evaluate their performance, they have to take into consideration what the farmers need most," Ye said.

A local official surnamed Wu at a town in Anqing of Anhui province, who has read the book, said the farmers encountered many of the problems revealed in the book, including lack of financial support and culture construction.

"I hope the book can help the government get a clearer picture of the countryside campaign, and ensure that all money from the central treasury is used for the right useful aspect," said Wu.

Ye's research goal

The biggest goal of Ye's survey is to raise awareness of society's needs and to listen to the farmers' opinions while constructing the new countryside.

Ye said he feels sorry that farmers, after having been passed by by development for so long, now don't believe in the government's promise to improve their lives.

"If the campaign can't motivate farmers to participate, it won't succeed," he said. "As long as they are involved and treat the campaign as their own goats and wheat, they will put their heart and soul into the programme."

Ye also noted that farmers today are far more knowledgeable and better informed than those of yesteryear.

They are now more willing to participate in local construction and are more aware of their rights. In addition, they are more willing to put forth the effort to improve their own lives.

Ye, himself the son of a farmer in Jiangsu Province, has devoted decades to the study of rural China.

As a sociologist, he spent an average of four months a year in five pilot villages in Yixian County in North China's Hebei Province.

Every person in the five villages knows him.

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