Rural economic development and advancement of agricultural technology will be listed high at the work agenda of the Jilin Provincial Government this year.

"To increase income revenue of rural residents is one of our primary concerns," said governor Wang Min in his keynote address made at a provincial meeting in late December 2005.

Due to implementation of supportive policies, last year saw soaring growth of rural economy in the province.

According to statistics, grain yield of the province rose by 2.6 billion kilogrammes and per capita net income of rural residents increased by about 18 per cent.

Both  figures  set a record high in local rural economic history.

However, compared to urban living standards, farmers still have a lower average household income.

In response to the scheme of "building a new socialist countryside" proposed by the Central government last year, the Jilin Province administration will increasingly focus on improving farmers' living and working conditions.

"We will continue to provide agricultural financial support through subsidies and fiscal transfer," Wang said.

Since the 2,600-year-old agriculture tax, a major financial burden for farmers, has been cancelled across China this year, rural income is expected to increase considerably.

On the move

 "To extend the agricultural chain is pivotal to agricultural modernization and industrialization. It is thus a high priority to raise farmers' revenue." Governor Wang said.

He also noted that this will give rise to  added value of agricultural products, adding that output value of farm product processing industry of the province is expected to grow by more than 20 per cent.

Local authorities will help advance the further processing projects of farm products, hoping to create more markets and expand demand, he said.

Emphasis will be placed on building a friendly environment, encouraging farmers to set up their own businesses and promoting development of a variety of rural economic co-operative organizations.

Leading agricultural companies, which are capable of absorbing more rural labour, will receive greater support from the government, Wang said.

The authorities will also attach importance to progress of agricultural technology.

"We will build a new technological service system, spreading upgraded products and advanced technologies," Governor Wang said.

An open and competitive grain market system is indispensable to the financial security of the farmers and healthy growth of grain industry.

Yet, grain purchase and sales channels used to be dominated by State-owned enterprises (SOE), which ignored rules of corporate governance.

Through the government's efforts, the SOEs are now being shaped into modern corporate operations, and more and more private capital is being injected into the market.

All this has contributed substantially to forming a well-balanced and dynamic grain market.

"We will also advance a package of rural financial reforms and help expand loan scale of rural credit associations," Wang said.

The effective operation of financial institutes will aid in the growth of the rural economy.

In addition, the authorities will also organize skill training programmes and thus facilitate transfer of rural surplus labour to urban areas.

  The government will do its best for the welfare of rural residents, according to Wang.

Besides establishing a rural social security system, the authorities will put more funds into the public service sector, covering education, medical facilities and services, and cable media, aiming to benefit the rural population.

They also plan to enhance rural infrastructure construction, such as roads, irrigation and water conservation, telecommunication, and power networks, according to Governor Wang.

The farmers of Jilin can now look forward to an affluent future.