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Developing Secondary and Tertiary Industries, Promoting Rural Urbanization
Developing secondary and tertiary industries, promoting rural urbanization and gradually transferring surplus agricultural labor force are the objective needs for making full use of abundant rural labor resources and increasing farmers' income through various channels.
In developing secondary and tertiary industries, we may consider putting in efforts to the intensive processing of agricultural products. Through industrial management of agriculture, we can extend the industrial chain of agriculture and allow farmers, who are engaged in the cultivation and processing of farm products, to get the maximum benefits therefrom; we can also devote time and energy to developing socialized services.
Under the condition of a socialist market economy, farmers, who are engaged in agricultural production, need various types of socialized services in the selection of seeds, the mastery of science and technology, the operation of circulation, as well as the necessities of daily life. Among these, some come within the limit of government responsibilities; some others may be completely organized by the farmers themselves. In the process of self-service, the farmers should be allowed to set up some new industries and open up new sources of revenues. As a matter of fact, quite a number of farmers with plenty of brains have drawn benefits therefrom.
For those farmers living in thousands of scattered households, they still need a reliable "dragon head or lead" and a stable carrier in developing secondary and tertiary industries. This "lead" is the township enterprise, and this carrier is the small town. Developing township enterprises and expanding small cities and towns on this basis constitute an important base and provide a sure guarantee for farmers developing secondary and tertiary industries and increasing income therefrom.
Township enterprises are the great creation by Chinese farmers, it is also a "secret weapon" which emerged rapidly during the initial period of the reform of China's economy. In the last few years, there has been a glide in the economic benefits of township enterprises, nevertheless, many brave and wise township entrepreneurs have pulled themselves together and started afresh in doing second pioneering work, some of them have become leaders guiding farmers in the march toward developing secondary and tertiary industries. Based on their local advantages of natural and labor resources, township enterprises may focus on developing the processing, storage, preservation, transport and marketing of agricultural products, and actively develop commerce, transportation, catering, tourism and other labor-intensive industries, thereby achieving the results of augmenting farmers' income and increasing enterprises' economic benefits.
Developing small cities and towns for the transfer of rural population can provide a vast market and enduring motive force for economic development, it is a major measure for optimizing the urban and rural economic structure and bringing about a virtuous cycle of the national economy and the coordinated development of society.
The construction of small cities and towns requires a rational layout, scientific planning, a moderate scale and stress on practical results. It is necessary to put the emphasis of development on county seats and some organic towns with good basic conditions and great development potential, enable them to improve their functions as quickly as possible, concentrate the population and give play to the role of the countryside as a regional economic and cultural center. The key to developing small cities and towns lies in bringing about economic prosperity of small cities and towns, it is necessary to guide township enterprises to rationally concentrate and perfect the rural market system and to closely combine the development of the industrial management of agriculture and socialized services with the construction of small cities and towns.
A large population with limited land is the basic reality of China's countryside. There is a relative strain of per-capita share of land resources in the countryside and a relatively huge contingent of surplus agricultural labor force. Developing rural secondary and tertiary industries to promote rural urbanization and constantly increasing farmers' incomes through gradually transferring surplus agricultural labor force represent a progressive process accompanied by economic development, which can be accomplished only through long-term, unremitting efforts. We are convinced that under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council and with the strenuous efforts of governments at all levels and the broad masses of farmers, the development of rural secondary and tertiary industries will definitely lead to gradual prosperity, the process of rural urbanization will certainly be gradually quickened, and farmers' income will surely increase accordingly.
This is the fifth article written by Our Commentator on increasing farmers' incomes by every possible means. It appears on Page 5 of People's Daily, March 28
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