Five key weaknesses are hampering development in rural areas and the agriculture industry, Zhao said.

In rural areas, where land is distributed equally to families who work on their shares of land separately, the agricultural production efficiency is considerably low. The small-scale peasant economy, characterized by a lack of agriculture-related information and resources, is challenged by an ever-increasing number of overseas agricultural conglomerates penetrating the domestic market. For instance, soybean imports—a popular source for edible oil—accounted for 69 percent of all soybeans consumed in China in 2008.

An oversupply of agricultural products also presents a problem to the continued development of rural areas. Along with the introduction of high-quality seeds and the utilization of fertilizers, farming machinery and other agricultural technologies, the per-hectare output has exploded. Zhao said if the problem of oversupply is not properly addressed, the prices for agricultural products would drop significantly, causing farmers' incomes to shrink even further.

The movement of migrant workers from their homes in China's interior to developed coastal areas has caused land use efficiency issues to arise as another obstacle to agricultural development. The more than 260 million farmers leave behind houses and land that often remain idle. In some counties in central China's Anhui Province, about 30 percent of villages are totally abandoned, a result of the massive migration of farmers searching for alternative jobs in other provinces.

The "localization" of migrant workers into developed areas is testing the government's strength in handling the urbanization process, since migrant workers tend to bring their entire families to the cities after they find a stable job, Zhao said. The benefits they receive, such as salary levels, social security, and apartment renting and purchasing, however, still lag far behind those of urban residents.

The weakest link in the agricultural development chain is rural financing, due in part to confusion from farmers and bankers alike. The majority of the farmers are reluctant to operate farms on bank loans, as they have little knowledge of how to take out loans. Conversely, most commercial banks have little experience when it comes to rural areas and are hesitant to grant loans to farmers who may not be able to pay them back. Government oversight will be necessary to bring the two parties together and allow the agriculture industry to grow sufficiently in coming years, Zhao said.

Agenda

The central conference on rural work held December 27-28 prioritized five areas as the Central Government's 2010 rural targets:

Guaranteeing the supply of major agricultural products. To ensure a steady output of produce and other agricultural goods, the government will safeguard the stable development of grain yields, form productions of scale for grains, vegetables, meat and fish, standardize rural production, and maintain a reasonable price level of all products.

Promoting the agricultural development by providing necessary support. Efforts will be taken to improve and construct rural irrigation and water conservancy facilities, build farmlands with higher yields, promote agricultural technology innovation, cultivate high-quality seeds, and equip the agriculture industry with modern machinery to boost the production.

Encouraging employment of farmers in various areas. In order to facilitate the influx of farmers to developed areas, measures will be taken to speed up urbanization efforts, strengthen township economies and increase job opportunities in local areas to allow farmers to stay relatively close to home. Farmers will also receive training to expand their skill sets and increase work efficiency, while qualified migrant workers will be allowed to settle down in cities and towns, where their social security benefits should be reinforced.

Promoting the development of social undertakings in rural areas. More attempts will be made to strengthen rural infrastructure and housing construction, improve power grids in rural areas, and advance compulsory education, cultural construction and social security guarantee levels. Further emphasis to stimulate ecological construction and promote environmental protection will be placed on forestation and maintaining an ecological balance in grasslands.

Expanding rural reform. Actively engaging in rural reform to stabilize and perfect basic operation systems in rural areas, ensure the current rural household contract responsibility system is maintained, reform the rural collective forestland use right, promote the reform of the rural land management system, protect the acreage of arable land, and reform rural financial services by creating new financing methods and products will take precedence in the agricultural development process.