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Farmers' Education on Plan
The Ministry of Agriculture vowed to take vigorous measures to strengthen science and technology education among nationwide farmers to cultivate their awareness on science and to improve their professional skills in agricultural production.
Meanwhile, the ministry disclosed that it will step up its efforts to draft out a regulation to guarantee every farmer have the opportunity to receive more professional education on farming and planting.
"The competence of the farmer is the determining factor of agricultural productivity; it's a self-evident economic theory. We must obey it and do everything possible to increase the abilities and skills of farmers," said Niu Dun, director of the Department of Science, Technology and Education under the ministry.
China's situation including rural areas is quite different from 20 years ago and now China's agriculture faces the new challenge of developing new biotechnology and other high-technology.
"So it is pressing to arm the farmers with knowledge," Niu said.
In addition, China's pending entry into the World Trade Organization requires the State to boost competitiveness in agriculture by improving farmers' command of agricultural science and technology, Niu said.
He also said that the coming campaign to promote science and technology among farmers across the nation will help farmers increase their income.
Niu admitted that a gap exists between the competence of the Chinese farmers and those in developed and some developing countries.
At present, the most important task facing the State's agricultural technicians is to help farmers adapt to the sustainable way of development, according to Niu.
"Our professional technical staff will play a vital part in popularizing sustainable agriculture, which integrates two goals -- environmental health and economic profitability," Niu said. "And we must let them bear the principle in their mind that we should meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," Niu said.
Niu emphases that the government will make more farmers have access to the Internet to gain more knowledge, while using the traditional face-to-face teaching approach.
In addition, Niu said it is essential to help farmers abandon the old way of thinking nurtured by the old planned economy, in which the government decided what and how to plant and raise.
"The situation has changed and we now not only face a domestic market but also international markets; we must let them know the rules of the market-oriented economy," Niu said.
He added that farmers must learn to obtain and analyze the information provided by the crop markets and then make decisions.
Source: China Daily
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