Priorities of agriculture and rural areas in China in 2024
The Central Rural Work Conference is annually held by the CPC Central Committee and the central government of China. The theme of this conference is the development and improvement in agriculture and rural affairs . At this conference, the current development situation and challenges in agriculture, rural areas and for farmers of the previous year are analyzed and evaluated, and goals, arrangements and instructions for the coming year are set.
During the last conference, held in December 2023 in Beijing, it was stated that, despite severe natural disasters in 2023, the grain output in China reached a record high of 695.41 million tons, farmers' incomes increased at a higher rate, and that the rural areas were harmonious and stable.
Priorities Agriculture
For 2024 the following priorities for agriculture are set:
1. Food security: ensuring that the grain output in 2024 stays above 650 billion kg. To ensure this, the focus will be on:
- Stabilizing the land acreage for grain production
- Increasing the yield per unit
- Improving the quality of arable land by expanding and improving high-standard arable land
2. Agricultural modernuzation: strengthening the driving forces of science and technology, supporting the establishment of agricultural science and technology innovation platforms and speeding up the initiative for the revitalization of the seed industry.
3. Building a diversified food supply system by focusing on the following two aspects:
- Realizing diversification of food supply sources
- Improving the supply capacity to diversify the types of food supply
Simultaneous efforts need to be made in agriculture , forestry, animal husbandry and fishing. This can stabilize and expand the food supply, meet the requirements of resident's needs for diversified food, and promote food system transformation.
Priorities Rural Affairs
Rural revitalization is a major national strategy for promoting social and economic development in rural areas and improving farmers' incomes and living standards which was launched in 2017. There are nearly 200 million people working in agriculture and its relative industry, there are nearly 500 million farmers and people living in rural areas. The priorities for rural affairs in 2024 are:
1. Improving rural industrial development
2. Improving the living enviroment in rural areas
3. Improving system and institutional arrangements regarding rural affairs
4. Implementing policies to support rural industries
5. Developing industries with distinctive characteristics, for example, planting and developing gro-products geographical indications in different regions.
6. Upgrading and fostering new industries and other forms of businesses, for instance, rural tourism. Rural tourism let's urban residents stay with local families and could be a great way to exerience rural life and to get to know where their food comes from.
7. While improving material well-being, also enriching the emotional and psychological well-being for rural residents. The Village BA tournament is a good expample of this. This down-to-earth basketball game started in a river vallet surrounded by farm land in a remote village in Guizhou province and is now one of the hottest competitions in China.
Written by Lily Zhang - Team Beijing
January 2024