Rural areas need better nurturing
- Source: Global Times
- [02:01 September 02 2009]
- Comments
Whenever rural areas catch the attention of the media, it seems it is always because of bad news.
Take one recent report for example: A severe drought is spreading from northeastern to central China, damaging some 12.67 million hectares of farmland.
While the drought is a natural disaster, it highlights the lack of a sufficient irrigation system in rural China. The news actually points to the fragility of China's agricultural sector, which has been marginalized during China's race toward urbanization and industrialization. It seems that many are eager to shake off the label of "the agricultural big power" for this country.
But a simple fact is that the country can go nowhere without solid modern agriculture. Industrialization, which has generated enormous wealth for China, is far from a completed process. Agriculture still employs 325 million people, nearly one-fourth of the country's population.
The gigantic task of feeding a population of 1.3 billion people hinges on poor rural facilities. The drought and flood disasters that frequent China showcase how its agricultural infrastructure is broken. With the fast development of China's economic power, its capability to respond to natural disasters in rural areas has ironically declined.
While the government pours huge resources into improving the industrial infrastructure – China boasts the second-longest highway in the world for example – the rural infrastructure has been left largely unattended. Worse, rural areas bear the worst consequences of environmental degradation caused in the rush to industrialization.
With their land surrendered, farmers have not reaped the benefit of fast economic growth. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the income gap between urban and rural residents has enlarged from 1.74:1 to 3.28:1 in the two decades since 1985.
The rural population also receives much lower welfare benefits than does the urban population. Farmers' incomes remain low.
Meanwhile, the traditional system of family members caring for the elderly has been discarded, meaning many rural residents are in a dire situation.
A preferential policy toward industrialization has put rural areas in a bind: The less people want to stay and farm, the worse agricultural facilities become, preventing agriculture from growing into a profitable business.
With Made-in-China commodities penetrating markets everywhere in the world, the country's agricultural products have little competitiveness and stay under the protection of government regulations.
It is expected that the media will soon pass over the drought news. But agriculture has been and still is the foundation of China.
Remaining ignorant of agriculture will put the social and economic stability of the country at risk.
