CPC pledges to build modern industrial system for agriculture

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-19 19:50

BEIJING - The Chinese Communist Party (CPC) plans to build a market-oriented industrial system for the country's agriculture sector with a necessary method of technological progress.

In a lengthy document unveiled by the CPC Central Committee on Sunday, the Party said it would lead infrastructure construction of the agricultural process, circulation and transport to the places that needed it most.

Production of oil plants would specially be targeted to increase the country's ability to self-supply edible oil, said the document passed by the third Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee to deepen the rural reform on October 12.

The Party encourages farmers to undertake the collective growth of cotton, sugar plants and potatoes in areas with suitable resources and environment.

It will support herdsmen to mass breed livestock and will continue to help them upgrade breeds and prevent epidemic disease.

For the fishing sector, the Party confirmed it would support deep-sea fisheries.

In addition, the CPC especially emphasized the quality control of agricultural products by strengthening supervision over the whole process of a product from the environment of its growth area to it's manufacturing, storage, transport and distribution.

The central government will also increase subsidies to the local financial income of counties that have major agricultural producing areas and will complete revenue policies preferable to companies which develop farm products processing, such as frozen vegetables.

The document also mentioned the mainland would increase cooperation in the agricultural field with Taiwan.

The CPC reaffirmed progress in science and technology was a fundamental method to develop agriculture.

The Party said it would make more effort to improve the ability of agricultural innovation and increase its investment into the industry that fed the country's 1.3 billion people.

According to the document, the government will focus on biological technology, cultivation of well-bred animals, growth of high-yield plants, agricultural water conservation and disaster relief.

It would implement a special project throughout the country to cultivate a group of new breeds with practical value as soon as possible by using transgenic technology, the document said.

Efforts will be made to advance the development of information services technologies that serve agricultural sector, with the focus being placed on information collection, precise operation and management information, weather forecasts and disaster alert technologies.

The document also underscored the support to agricultural research institutes catering to the public interests and agricultural universities to promote innovation and training of agricultural scientific personnel who are entitled to push for agricultural technology advancement and help farmers master agricultural technologies.

Various agricultural high-tech zones and state-owned farms should also actively cooperate with research institutes, it said.