The Chinese government will further encourage more farmers to
set up economic cooperatives, according to a government
official.
Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture Yin Chengjie recently told
50 Chinese mayors at a seminar that the ministry will offer more
training and guidance to farmers in the coming years to encourage
more farmers join economic cooperatives.
Yin said the cooperatives have become an important link between
farmers and the market, which is vital if China is to boost modern
agriculture and build a new socialist countryside.
According to ministry statistics, the 23 million members
enrolled in the country's 150,000 economic cooperatives now account
for 9.8 percent of the total rural households. These economic
cooperatives have also benefited 32.45 million non-member
households.
Statistics show that the economic cooperatives can bring an
average increase of 500 yuan in annual income for each of their
members. Last year the average income of China's farmers only
increased by 300 yuan.
Development of these cooperatives is a key element of the
country's drive to build a new socialist countryside, which is one
of the government's priorities.
Yin recognized that the government needs to create a more
favorable environment for the development of farmers' cooperatives.
He called for a new law on farmers' cooperatives to be issued and
put into operation as soon as possible.
A draft law on farmers' professional cooperatives has been
submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress (NPC), or China's legislature, for the first
deliberation on June 24, which will improve farmers' legal
rights.
(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2006)