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Earnestly Protecting Farmers' Enthusiasm: Commentary
The source of the motivating force for increasing farmers' income lies in persistently deepening rural reforms, implementing the Party's various rural policies, conscientiously protecting, mobilizing and giving play to farmers' enthusiasm.
Historical experiences have proved it necessary to recognize and guarantee farmers' autonomy, regard mobilization of farmers' enthusiasm as the primary point of departure in formulating rural policies. This basic principle must be abided by at any time and in any matter.
The core of sparking farmers' enthusiasm is to guarantee farmers' material benefits and respect their democratic rights. Excessive burden on the farmers is a relatively outstanding problem existing in current rural work, the phenomena of arbitrary apportionment of expenses, unauthorized fund-raising and indiscriminate charges still exist in many localities, there is sharp contradiction between cadres and the masses at grass-roots units. Under the present circumstances featuring difficulties in increasing farmers' income, earnestly reducing farmers' burden and allowing them to rest and recuperate is of special importance in promoting the development of agriculture and the rural economy and maintaining social stability in the countryside. Party and government departments at various levels should understand this problem from the political perspective and the high plane of the overall situation, and earnestly implement the various policies and measures of the Party Central Committee regarding reducing farmers' burden.
At present, it is imperative to accelerate the legalization construction of the rural land system and ensure the long-term stability of the double-tier system that combines unified and separated management and is based on the household contract management system. Currently, the work of extending the second round land contract period has been basically concluded. In the next step it is necessary to focus on institutionalized and legalized management.
Purchasing farmers' surplus grain at protective prices without restraint is a major move to stabilize the grain market, increase farmers' income, protect their enthusiasm and stabilize grain production capacity, various localities should unify their thinking and conscientiously put this move into practice. State-owned grain purchase and marketing enterprises should enhance their awareness of the overall situation and policy-related concepts, conscientiously implement the State's policy on grain purchase and marketing and resolutely correct the erroneous practice of some localities which restrict and refuse purchasing grain or purchase by forcing down grades and prices, that harms farmers' interests. Local governments should actively raise funds to ensure that grain risk funds are put in place in time and in full, they should carry out the principle of setting high prices for good-quality products and guide farmers to readjust their planting structure.
The reform of rural tax and fee is a major policy decision of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on strengthening agriculture, and protecting farmers' enthusiasm, and another important reform of rural areas following institution of the household contract management system. Success in this reform, straightening out the rural distribution relations, standardizing distribution conduct, incorporating the management of farmers' burden into the legalization path are of major and far-reaching significance to the development and stability of China's rural areas. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen management of rural collective assets and promote the openness of village-level finance through democratic election, democratic appraisal based on discussion, the villagers committee's regular report system and other systems.
The outstanding problem facing rural finance is difficulty in extending loans to farmers. Given this situation, it is necessary to further reform the rural financial system, improve financial service, increase credit supply to agriculture, and give full play to the role of rural credit co-ops in supporting the production and operation of farmers' households.
Operating agriculture in an industrial manner is an important way for promoting agricultural modernization, it is essential to encourage and support enterprises engaging in the processing and marketing of agricultural products to spur farmer households to enter the market, so as to establish an organization form featuring the share of interests and risks. In a certain sense, supporting the construction of enterprises that lead the operation of agriculture in an industrial way makes it possible to fully mobilize and protect farmers' enthusiasm.
It should be noted that protecting farmers' enthusiasm and increasing their incomes interact as both cause and effect and complement each other, so long as the enthusiasm of farmers at large is protected and given full play in earnest, there will definitely emerge a new situation full of vigor and vitality in China's rural economy and rural society.
This third article, written by Our Commentator on increasing farmers' income by every possible means, is published on the front page of People's Daily March 26
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