INTRODUCTION

11.1 Agriculture is at the basis of China's national economy. Only with sustainable agriculture and rural development can overall sustainable development in China be ensured, therefore it deserves high priority.

11.2 Chinese agriculture, which can be traced back 10,000 years, and has a wealth of good traditions. In the last 40 years, the total grain output has increased from 110 million tonnes to 440 million tonnes. Since the policy of reform and opening up was adopted in 1978, the structure of agricultural production has undergone some improvements. Village and township enterprises have been developing rapidly and their production now accounts for over 30% of gross domestic industrial output. They are changing, to some extent, the backwardness of rural areas. Chinese rural people now basically have enough to eat and wear, and they are looking forward to a better future when they will live more comfortable lives.

11.3 China's rural and agricultural development is confronted with a number of serious problems:

(a) There is a low per capita acreage of farmland, there is a decrease in natural agricultural resources, and there is an annual trend of decreasing per capita availability of such resources. In the last 10 years, total cultivated lands decreased by 360,000 hectares and per capita cereal food production is less than 400 kilograms, which is quite low;

(b) The economy in rural areas is relatively less developed, and rural people's per capita income is low and it increases very slowly. The rural population is growing rapidly, and educational resources are inadequate. Approximately 1/4 of the total agricultural labour force are surplus to needs;

(c) Aggregate agricultural productivity is still low. The ability to counteract natural disasters is limited, so agricultural productivity experiences frequent fluctuations.

(d) The structure of the agricultural economy is irrational, and the turnover from agricultural inputs is still low. The ratio of fixed assets to agricultural investment is generally about 65%. The utilization level of fertilizer and water is low. Additionally, agricultural production costs are rising rapidly;

(e) Pollution of the agricultural environment is becoming increasingly serious. Over 20 million hectares of cultivated lands, or about 1/5 of the total farmland, have been contaminated to some extent. Land degradation is a serious problem and severe natural disasters are common.

11.4 Sustainable development is the only path Chinese agriculture and rural people can follow in order to eradicate poverty. The main objectives of sustainable agricultural development inclue a steady increase in agricultural productivity, enhancement of food production and security of food supply, development of the rural economy, increase of rural people's incomes so as to change poor, backward conditions in rural areas. Efforts should be made to protect and improve the environment for agriculture, to utilize natural resources rationally and on an ongoing basis, especially with respect to biological resources and renewable energy, in order to meet the needs of the growing national economy and of the people. In order to meet these objectives, the adopted strategy is to gradually refine existing laws, regulations and policies that are necessary for guiding rural development; to combine market mechanisms with effective macro-controls; to ensure food supplies; to adjust the structure of rural industries; to increase agricultural inputs and aggregate productivity; to develop scientific and technological expertise for the sustainable development of agriculture; and, to promote the protection of the agro-biological environment and the rational use of resources.

11.5 Sustainable agricultural and rural development involves a wide range of issues. While being interrelated with other chapters in China's Agenda 21, this chapter has 7 program areas:

PROGRAM AREAS

A. Promoting Comprehensive Management for Sustainable Agriculture Development

Basis for action

11.6 During the transformation from a planned to a market economy, special attention should be given to the protection of the environment and natural resources. Efforts should be made to avoid any tendencies of excessive economic growth at the expense of natural resources and the environment, during the transformation process. Existing policies, legal regulations and plans for agricultural and rural development should be reviewed and some articles or sections could be added so as to increase sustainable development content and to promote the comprehensive management of agricultural development.

11.7 Comprehensive management for sustainable development requires the participation all people. It also requires increased awareness of sustainable development amongst all levels of policy makers and management staff. The protection of natural resources and the environment should be linked with socio- economic development. Policies, laws and regulations for this should be promoted so as to keep peoples' social and economic behavior within bounds.

11.8 Since the 1980s, 50 experimental zones have been established in China to promote comprehensive agricultural management and sustainable development. Efforts have been made to ensure the harmonious combination of higher socio-economic benefits with improvement of the environment. These zones have been effective and have provided valuable experience for the further promotion of sustainable agricultural development. As a model for sustainable agriculture, the practices of environmental-friendly agriculture are now being gradually utilized on a wider basis. At present, they have been expanded from individual households to villages and counties, with a total number of experimental sites reaching several hundreds.

11.9 The establishment and improvement of a comprehensive management system for sustainable agricultural development requires flexible but accurate responses, and, therefore, it needs a very good information system, which can provide scientific bases for decision-making and which can serve as a supporting element for sustainable development.

Objectives

11.10 By the year 2000, a comprehensive management system for sustainable development should be established and improved:

(a) According to the framework for sustainable development, various policies, legal provisions and regulations should be formulated to allow for comprehensive evaluations and appropriate adjustments of both medium- and long-term plans for agricultural development;

(b) Training activities for management staff at various government levels should have been conducted;

(c) A highly efficient agricultural information system should be developed and improved.

Activities

11.11 Based on the concept and principles of sustainable development, existing laws, regulations, policies and management systems should be examined together and plans for their improvement and consolidation should be proposed. Special attention should be given to the enforcement of legal measures and policies, in connection with the protection of the agro-ecological environment and the management of natural resources. These would include regulations on agro-ecological environmental protection, farmland protection, domestic and international exchanges of animal and plant species, cultivation, breeding and wild-life resource management, and so on, so as to form a well-developed legal and policy system.

11.12 A comprehensive management system for sustainable agricultural and rural development should be established. The sectorial coordination between agricultural, rural, environmental and other management agencies should be strengthened. Sustainable development should be managed in a comprehensively organized way. Training of management staff should be conducted at national, provincial, prefectural, and county levels, so as to improve capabilities in the management of sustainable development.

11.13 Mechanisms of the market economy should be reflected in the objectives and activities of the sustainable development. Agriculture-related strategies, plans, policies and legal regulations should be evaluated and amended comprehensively, to ensure coordinated actions be taken by both the government managers and local rural people.

11.14 Various experiments on sustainable agricultural development should be conducted, including:

(a) Through summarizing and widely applying the successful experience of the existing 50 experimental zones for comprehensive agricultural management, another 10 experimental zones will be set up during the period of the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000);

(b) Based on the existing ones, the number of the experimental sites for ecologically-sound agriculture will be doubled;

(c) 100 demonstration zones will be established in which high-quantity and high-quality agricultural production will be linked with sustainable development.

11.15 Information network systems (including data-banks) with multiple functions will be created for the management of agricultural and rural sustainable development.

B. Enhancing the Food Security and Pre-warning Systems

Basis for action

11.16 Food security refers to the effective supply of sufficient quantities of well-balanced, good quality food of different types to all residents.

11.17 China, a large agricultural country, supports 22% of the world's total population. Food security in quantitative terms must depend on domestic grain production. Although the per capita grain output has been increased remarkably in the past 15 years, it is still lower than the world average. In some rural areas, the problems of sufficient food and clothing have not yet been resolved. The Chinese population is growing by 15 million annually, while per capita agricultural resources are decreasing each year. By the middle of the 21st century, the Chinese population will reach 1.5 or 1.6 billion, and food security will be an even greater challenge.

11.18 Within China's present food structure, the availability of meat, eggs, milk, aquatic products, vegetable and fruits have increased remarkably, particularly in large and medium sized cities. However, in many regions, supplies of these foodstuffs are still limited and uncertain. Cereal products are the main food in China. Although this food supply has been basically secured, it is still insufficient in some poverty-stricken areas, where "the more they grow, the poorer they become", a vicious cycle in which the farming environment is being destroyed and land erosion is serious.

11.19 As part of pursuing the goal of food security, high quality food free from contamination should be made available to people. As living standards improve, the demand for safe, tasteful food grows. At present, it is because there is a blind pursuit for increasing food quantities that the pollution resulting from the use of fertilizers and pesticides tends to be somewhat overlooked.

Objectives

11.20 By the year 2000, the food and nutritional intake of Chinese people should reach more healthy levels. The per capita daily food consumption should reach 2600 kilocalorie and seventy-two grams of protein (of which 33 percent should be high quality protein). As the grain supply reaches the target of 500 million tonnes or 400 kg per capita, the development of animal products, fruits and vegetables should also be accelerated. And while the problems of subsistence for rural people in poverty-stricken areas are being dealt with, particularly in terms of meeting the nutritional requirements of women, children, and the elderly, every possible effort should be made to improve the environment for food production and to secure a food supply which meets safe quality standards.

Activities

11.21 The "China Food Composition Reform and Development Program in the 1990s" should be fully implemented to guide people's consumption and production and to establish a nutritionally balanced food composition.

11.22 Highly efficient food security prediction and warning systems should be established, which would include forecasts of natural conditions which could have adverse effects on agricultural production, and which would monitor the growth of the food production environments. Special emphasis should be paid to the monitoring of such factors as soil fertility, soil and water erosion, and the state of pollution in the agricultural environment.

11.23 Food production bases should be established at various levels, which will include commercial food production areas, production centers for livestock, aquatic products, oil, sugar, fruits, and vegetables, so as to secure an efficient food supply and to increase food varieties. The quality of the environment for food production should be improved to ensure the production of contaminate-free food.

11.24 Systems for food storage, processing and distribution, and especially for national grain storage, should be improved at all levels.

11.25 After analysis of developments in both domestic and international commodity markets, the resources of the international commodity markets should be fully utilized to compensate for domestic food surpluses or shortages.

C. Adjusting the Agricultural Structure and Optimizing the Combination of Resources and Production Factors

Basis for action

11.26 Under the pressure of population growth and because of the past policy of "taking the grain production as the key link" that had been followed for many years, the structure of agriculture has been on a single track. Though the restructuring of Chinese agriculture has been considerably successful over last 10 years of moving towards a market economy, agricultural cultivation is still mainly focused on cereal production. Livestock farming, raising fish and fruit production are relatively weaker. In this situation, neither manpower nor material resources are fully utilized and agricultural productivity and commodity production have hardly improved.

11.27 In the environment of a market economy, the single-tracked structure of agriculture clearly hampers the development of the rural economy. Although food production rises, farmers do not see increases in their incomes, and the gap between the income levels of agricultural and industrial laborers widens. In some areas, farmers' incomes have even experienced negative growth, thus limiting their ability to further increase inputs into basic agricultural construction.

11.28 Because of the single-tracked structure of agriculture, the diversity of natural resources can not be rationally and effectively utilized. Deterioration of the environment contributes to the severity of water and soil erosion, as well as to desertification, thereby resulting in poverty in some rural areas.

Objectives

11.29 With the prerequisite for stable food production, and in keeping with the principle of making full use of local resources and conditions, energetic and appropriate actions should be taken to adjust agricultural structures, in order to create more rational structures for the all-round development of agriculture, to include forestry, livestock, and fishery, as well as agricultural production. These sectors will mutually support, depend on and benefit one another. Secondary agricultural and processing industries should be developed in order to form a rural industrial system, which combines agricultural operations like cultivation, breeding and processing, with industrial and commercial activities so that both the aggregate productivity of rural economy and its capacity for sustainable development can be improved.

Activities

11.30 Rural economic restructuring and the use of labor resources should be strengthened. The existing technical service system for agriculture, forestry, livestock and fishery farming should be consolidated and further improved. A system for guiding the production and sales of agricultural products and by-products should be established.

11.31 Studies should be conducted to determine the optimum structure for agricultural industries and to develop related policies for the rational use of resources. Under the market economy, the state should assist efforts in establishing new agricultural undertakings in the fields of pricing, credit and investment for basic construction.

11.32 A range of sustainable agricultures should be developed, according to the favorable local conditions and available resources. Environmental-friendly agricultural engineering projects should be developed in broad areas in northwest, southwest and northeast China.

11.33 Scientific and technical activities and information services:

(a) In addition to conducting further studies on traditional agricultural techniques, special attention should be given to the studies on techniques used for specialty crops, livestock farming, fish raising and for secondary and tertiary industries. Technical demonstration sites should be established up for different sectors and successful experiences should be conveyed to other regions through training programs and practical demonstrations;

(b) Tertiary service systems should be established for agriculture, forestry, animal farming and fish raising, and service mechanisms should be improved;

(c) Scientific studies on basic theories of sustainable development and applied expertise should be carried out;

(d) Databases should be established at ministerial, provincial (municipal, autonomous regional), prefectural (city) and county levels, and a national network should be gradually developed in order to share and exchange information.

11.34 International cooperation and academic exchanges should be strengthened in order to learn from the experience of developed countries, which have already completed their rural economic restructuring. Advanced technology and expertise from foreign countries in the fields of agricultural and rural industries, should be also introduced through academic exchanges and visits.

D. Increasing Agricultural Inputs and Improving Comprehensive Productivity

Basis for action

11.35 Meeting the targets set for the year 2000 will require additional input of materials, energy and financial resources. It will also need improvements to the infrastructure for agriculture, improvement of agro-ecological environments and enhancement of aggregate agricultural productivity.

11.36 Over the past 10 years, the infrastructure for agriculture has been improved to some extent. Fixed assets in rural production have increased from 15.5 billion yuan in 1957 to 388.6 billion yuan in 1990. 50% of total cultivated lands has access to irrigation. Forest belts to protect farmland have also been expanded. On the other hand, the environmental conditions in farmlands are still relatively poor. Agricultural infrastructures are far from being well developed, and this, in turn, becomes an important factor restricting agricultural development. 79% of cultivated lands fall into medium or low production categories. Of irrigated fields, only 50% have effective irrigation. Most of the farmlands are tilled by draft animals and managed manually. Other parts of the infrastructure, like transportation, energy and telecommunications, which are required for the development of secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas are even less well developed.

11.37 Since the policy of reform and opening-up was adopted in China, much attention has been given to the development of energy resources in rural areas. Progress has been made, particularly in the wide use of fuel saving stoves, the utilization of biogas, charcoal forestry, building small-scale hydropower plants, and the use of wind power for driving machinery. However, electricity and fossil fuel supplies in rural areas are very limited. In about 20% of the poorest villages and in some regions, there are not sufficient supplies of cooking and heating fuel; in the most seriously affected areas are without fuel for over 6 months of every year. In poverty-stricken areas, the lack of fuel combines with damage to vegetation and soil erosion to form a vicious cycle. Therefore, the development of energy resources in rural areas is important for sustainable rural development.

Objectives

11.38 By the year 2000, total fertilizer production will reach 150 million tonnes, 53.3 million hectares of land will be irrigated, total farm machinery power will reach 42 million kW, and electricity consumption will reach 90 billion kW. While this is happening, fertilizers and pesticides should be improved to minimize pollution to both the environment and people, and they should be effectively utilized.

11.39 Efforts should be made to enhance the system of protective forests and the basic building of farmlands, to improve degraded farmlands and rural energy supplies and to build up the capacity of agricultural production to deal with natural disasters.

Activities

11.40 Guidance, comprehensive planning and sectoral coordination for building the rural infrastructure should be strengthened. Investments for rural infrastructure, including funds required for regular maintenance, should be increased.

11.41 Efforts should be continued to establish 5 protective forest belts, developing from existing "protective forest belts in north, northeast, northwest China". All people should be encouraged to grow trees and grass. Degraded soil, waterlogged, arid and alkaline lands and low yielding land should be improved.

11.42 Irrigation and related projects should be developed so as to increase irrigation areas, to develop water-saving techniques, to improve irrigation efficiency. Improvements for potable water supply and sanitary facilities should be also made so as to gradually solve the problems in water supply for people and animals in poor areas.

11.43 Efforts should be made to increase the fertilizer production, to accelerate the production of compound and long-lasting fertilizers, to increase varieties of fertilizer, to develop new fertilizer products and to improve their methods of application. At the same time, increased use of farm manure should encouraged in order to reduce potential damage to the environment caused by the use of chemical fertilizers.

11.44 The use of pesticides and non-degradable plastic films should be strictly controlled, and the use of low residue, less toxic pesticides and degradable films should be encouraged.

11.45 Farm machinery and equipment for processing primary farm products and fodder should be widely used. Attention should be paid to the processing of farm products. Training activities in the fields of developing processing skills, the operation of equipment and the management of financial resources should receive more support.

11.46 Inputs for the exploitation of energy should be increased. Studies for the future development of energy should be made. Experimental sites for the comprehensive use of energy resources should be constructed at county levels. Greater impetus should be given to the development of charcoal forests, to the use of fuel-saving stoves and to the use of renewable energy, including marsh gases, geothermal, solar, wind and small-scale hydropower plants, so as to increase energy supplies in rural areas.

E. Sustainable Use of Agricultural Natural Resources and Protection of the Natural Environment

Basis of action

11.47 Due to rapid economic development, the limited agricultural resources have been increasingly exploited, e.g. the non-agricultural use of farmland, over-grazing, deforestation and excessive fishing. Furthermore, pollution and environmental degradation accelerate the process of destruction of resources. The protection and rational utilization of natural resources has become an urgent problem which must be solved in order to realize sustainable development.

11.48 Natural resources have been used free of charge for a long time, and this has given rise to enormous waste and hinders efforts for their protection. Under a market economy, if the resources are without cost (i.e. as in a pattern of "high value products, lower value raw material and zero value resources") or priced irrationally low, then it will undoubtedly lead to an even more serious waste of resources. Therefore, natural resources for agriculture must be evaluated and priced.

11.49 At present, as a result of industrial development and the excessive use of chemicals, the agro- ecological environment is suffering from serious pollution. Each year, 7 to 13 million hectares of farmland are directly affected by fertilizer or pesticide contamination. Industrial emissions and wastes eventually affect the agro-ecological environment. In recent years, there have been thousands of claims for environmental damages, with an indemnity value of approximately 100 million yuan, and the loss of grain exceeds 10 billion kilograms. Environmental conditions are still deteriorating. Moreover, due to the irrational use of lands and bio-resources and the lack of adequate measures to protect the agricultural environment, the depletion of resources and soil degradation continue to be serious concerns. In general terms, the degradation of agro-ecological environment has become one of the main factors that limiting the capacity of aggregate agricultural production.

Objectives

11.50 Comprehensive protection should be given to farmlands, forestry lands, grasslands, wetlands, water resources, and species of domestic and wild animals. By the year 2000, laws and regulations governing these should be revised or improved so as to construct a legal system which protects agricultural resources.

11.51 By the year 2000, a realistic and fair price basis for estimating the value of natural agro-resources should be in place so as to ensure their rational use and effective management. It should be regarded not only as an important market element, but also as a means for agro-environmental assessment and monitoring, which should then be incorporated into the national economic accounting system.

11.52 The system for managing the agro-environment should be strengthened. Through improving legislation, specific responsibilities and obligations with respect to the management of the agro- environment should be clarified and investment channels should be determined so that management can function normally.

11.53 The monitoring system for the agro-environment should be well established. By the turn of the century, the primary emphasis should be on the gradual establishment of agro-environment protection stations at provincial, prefectural (city) and county levels, as well as in pasturelands, fishing zones and areas where farmland is being reclaimed, in order to form a national network for monitoring the agricultural environment, so that information on both the environment and quality of the agricultural products can be collected and exchanged.

Activities

11.54 Laws, regulations and standards relating to natural agro-resources and the environment should be re-examined to ensure that the obligations for agricultural sectors with respect to resource and environmental protection are clearly specified. New and more specific regulations and standards should be added as required. The management system for agricultural resources and environmental protection should be improved in terms of efficiency and capabilities.

11.55 Data-bases should be created to keep information on agro-resources and the environment. Steps should be taken to ensure that there is continuity in and regular updating of data.

11.56 Based on information from the data-bases and the use of a system for describing agricultural zones, agro-resources and environments can be classified, zoned and evaluated. In order to achieve a higher degree of accuracy, sub-zones should be described down to county levels. Accounting systems for agro-resources and environments should be established and incorporated into agricultural and rural economic accounting systems. Based on these evaluations, plans for the utilization of various resources and environments can be formulated. Once monitoring and information systems are established, changes in agricultural environments can be better detected and controlled.

11.57 Based on the regulations for the protection of cultivated land, about 80% of the cultivated lands will be included in protected zones. The improvement of less productive farmland should be done in a planned way, area by area, so as to accelerate the construction of highly productive farmland with stable yields. Land reclamation should be promoted and farmlands should be protected against wind erosion (by planting forest shields), and water erosion (through leveling and improving water drainage facilities). Once the land has been stabilized, farmers will be encouraged to improve soil fertility by applying plant residues and other organic manure.

11.58 Rural water resources (both surface and underground water) and particularly potable water for people and animals, should be protected. Water allocations from large water bodies should be stabilized. Both spatial (water diversion) and temporal (water storage) water supply should be rationally controlled. Irrigation with wastewater can be used as appropriate.

11.59 The transmission of energy from large- or medium-sized power plants to rural areas should be guaranteed. Facilities which take advantage of small-scale energy resources should be refurbished, and facilities for developing new sources of energy and clean energy should be built.

11.60 Conduct studies on the potential value for use of unexploited and already exploited natural resources, especially biological resources, and, as appropriate, develop and use them. Multi-disciplinary studies for the development and use of wild plant and animal resources should be conducted.

11.61 New biological species introduced from the foreign countries should be bred, selected and adapted so that they will enrich the national resources of biological species.

F. Development of Science and Technology for Sustainable Agriculture

Basis for action

11.62 China has a long history of using traditional agricultural techniques, but modern agricultural science and technology is far from being technically well developed and in widespread use. This situation has already restricted the sustainable agricultural development and resulted in unfavorable repercussions on efforts made for the protection of agricultural environments.

11.63 Sustainable agricultural science and technology mainly refers to highly productive, high quality, efficient and resource-saving (water, energy and fodder) techniques and expertise for agricultural production. It also refers to techniques for species development and improvement, to biological or other pest-control expertise and to technology appropriate for the protection and improvement of the environment.

11.64 To achieve the objectives of highly productive, high quality, efficient food production, in addition to increasing inputs of materials for production, scientific and technical expertise should be fully utilized to improve efficiency of production and to maintain sustainable agricultural development.

Objectives

11.65 Efforts should be made to study, develop, and extensively utilize agricultural technologies for resource conservation, for high yielding and high quality production and for environmental protection. Technology for agricultural and food processing should also be developed to provide more and safe food.

Activities

11.66 Assessments for sustainability should be conducted on agricultural technologies currently being used to evaluate resource utilization rates, product quantity and quality, and environmental impacts. Techniques which are conducive to sustainable production should be applied extensively, and inappropriate practices should be abandoned.

11.67 Technology for improving the efficiency of agricultural materials should be studied and extensively utilized. By the year 2000, efficiency in the use of chemical fertilizers and water should increase from the current 35% to 40-45%. Efficiency in the use of agricultural machinery should exceed 40%. Efficiency in the use of oil and electricity should be also improved.

11.68 Biological technology should be used to develop new high quality, highly productive and non- degenerating animal and plant breeds to enrich the sources of new breeds, and to strengthen the research and development of generic breeding techniques. The breeding system for selection and nursing of new species should be established and improved so as to ensure their purity and maximum usability.

11.69 Research should be conducted for the comprehensive control of severe plant diseases and pests, as well as on forecasting techniques. Biological pesticides should be developed to reduce damages caused by plant diseases and pests;

11.70 The study and development of sustainable technologies should be actively promoted. They should particularly receive more support in terms of financial allocations, equipment and facilities. At the same time, basic research on scientific and technological knowledge for sustainable agricultural development should be strengthened and the potential for scientific and technical research should be developed. Research should also focus on the decision-making system and techniques for rural and agricultural sustainable development.

11.71 A sound and effective system for the utilization of agricultural technologies should be established, and the role of local agricultural extension centers for expanding new agricultural technologies should be brought into full play. Networks of advisory services should be developed in order to train a large number of skilled agricultural technicians.

G. Development of Township and Village Enterprises and Construction of Rural Centers

Basis for action

11.72 Since 1979, village and township enterprises (VTEs) have undergone rapid development. By 1990, the total industrial output was about 30% of national gross industrial output and they formed not only the largest proportion of medium- and small-scale enterprises in China, but also one of the important pillars of national economy. The development of VTEs is important for the modernization of Chinese agriculture, for rural urbanization, and for narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas and between industrial workers and rural people. They represent an important path for the industrialization of the country as a whole.

11.73 However, VTEs face a variety of problems, such as lack of development plans, being badly equipped, having backward production procedures, poor management and low levels of technical skills. Consequently, the waste of resources is enormous and damage to the environment is serious. This issue requires urgent attention.

11.74 Although VTEs have absorbed about 100 million rural laborers since the 1980s, the surplus rural labor force is still over 100 million, and the figure will most likely rise to 200 million by the year 2000. These surplus laborers are poorly educated, which means that they have fewer opportunities for employment, accordingly their incomes are affected. It also slows down their ability to adapt to new technologies and slows the expansion of the scope of production and improvements to productivity.

11.75 The development of VTEs has given impetus to rural development, especially with respect to the formation and development of village and township centers, having multiple functions including economic, social, cultural and residential. In addition to proper layout of the VTEs, more efforts should be made to construct rural housing, transportation facilities, provide water and energy supplies and sanitary facilities, so that gradually modern villages and townships will be developed.

Objectives

11.76 By the year 2000, the VTEs gross product value will reach 7,600 billion yuan, out of which 5,400 billion yuan will come from their industrial sectors. On VTEs should increase their planning and management capabilities, make scientific and technological advances, improve their industrial structures, and realize a sustainable development by using high efficiency, energy-saving and environmentally-sound techniques. In the VTEs, the processing of agricultural products should be given priority for development and support.

11.77 Various forms of training activities should be organized to raise competence levels of rural laborers as quickly as possible, in order to increase the effective supply of rural labor and to create more job options for the rural labor force. By the year 2000, another 50 million laborers will be located in VTEs in order to increase rural incomes and to give impetus to local economies.

11.78 By the year 2000, there should be a focus of efforts on transforming the over 50,000 villages and towns which are located throughout the country, into economically prosperous and environmentally-sound agricultural centers, with well distributed industries and commercial services, rational lay-outs, having beautiful, standardized and practical houses, with sound water supply and drainage systems, central heating, sanitary systems, and educational, cultural and recreational facilities.

Activities

11.79 Governments at every level should formulate plans for VTEs, provide guidance, management, supervision and coordination and provide other services as required.

11.80 A Law for Village and Township Enterprises of the People's Republic of China and other associated legal documents should be drawn up.

11.81 The VTEs should be guided along the path of scientific progress and improving the quality of their labor force.

11.82 The process of formulating a law on environmental protection by VTEs should be expedited. A sound system with better management should be established for VTE environmental protection and pollution control. A policy of combining appropriate guidance with restrictive controls on VTEs should be followed. More efforts should be focused on preventing and reducing pollution in rural areas suffering severe pollution and in productive sectors which pollute most severely.

11.83 Expenditures on education should be increased, and all sectors in society are encouraged to operate schools. The development of vocational schools in rural areas should be promoted and the 9-year compulsory education plan should be enforced.

11.84 Training in agricultural skills and practices should be strengthened. Three type of training activities should be conducted for this:

(a) Training in practical farming techniques should be organized to enhance farmers' scientific knowledge for agricultural production and to enable them to benefit from the techniques they acquired;

(b) The "Green Diploma Program" should be further implemented. Farmers possessing a secondary school education are trained in specific skills. After they pass examinations on those skills, they are presented with a diploma. These farmers are expected to be "back-bone technicians" who will assist others in their farming activities;

(c) Further secondary education should be offered to farmers in order to enable them to better adapt to the new requirements in rural economic development. This training should mostly be oriented to rural grass-root officials and technicians.

11.85 Plans for developing village and town centers should be formulated, and rational urbanization should be guided and promoted through developing financial, technological and population policies. The development of VTEs should go hand in hand with the development of village and town centers, so that combined efforts can be made to control pollution. Plans for VTE industrial layout should be formulated giving consideration to protection of the eco-environment, the prevention of pollution, the improvement of industrial profits, and to promote a flourishing rural economy. At the same time, more attention should paid to the rational lay-out of housing, recreational facilities, industrial and commercial establishments, transportation networks and water and energy supply.

11.86 The housing in villages and towns should be standardized, have practical designs and be equipped with water supply and drainage, heating and sanitary facilities, with a surrounding environment of trees and lawns.