Responding to farmers' concerns during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, clarifying the approach to agricultural development
On the 10th, after snow in Changchun gave way to clear skies, Han Changfu, a member of the Central Publicity Team for the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, who had once worked in Jilin Province, stood in front of the pile of corn at the gate of Jilin farmer Yuan Jin's home and asked: “The price of corn has dropped a bit this year, has it had some effect?” Yuan Jin gave an honest reply, then said “not much of an effect.”
On that day, members of the Central Publicity Team for the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee came to Helongzhan Village, Lanjia Town, Kuancheng District, Changchun City, bringing the Party Central Committee's latest thinking on agriculture and development to the farmers' fields. Publicity team member Han Changfu said that in recent years the state had been raising corn prices, and this year's price cut took into account supply and demand, the costs of corn processing enterprises, and other factors. “The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach importance to stable grain prices and also care about everyone's income from selling grain. Fellow villagers have made major contributions to ensuring national food security.”
Changchun in November already felt deeply chilly. At villager Wu Zhongping's home, the publicity team member sat on the warm kang and chatted with the villagers about family matters: how the family's farming harvest was, whether anyone had gone out to work, whether the land had been transferred, and other topics of concern to the Party Central Committee; and many villagers wanted to know whether, after land transfer, the government could give contractors some support.
Han Changfu told the villagers that land transfer is an important matter in rural reform and also a matter of concern at the Fifth Plenary Session. “New types of business entities need funds to buy agricultural machinery, build storage, and provide skills training. The government will support the active development of appropriately scaled operations and give play to their leading role in the process of agricultural development.”
Li Shuqin, a resident of Helongzhan Tun in Helongzhan Village, joyfully shared with the publicity team members her family's income situation this year: farming and working out brought a family of four nearly 40,000 yuan in income, and life was getting better and better. Villager Wang Shibin said that a good life would not be possible without direct agricultural subsidies and wanted to know whether the direct subsidies would continue. “The recommendations for the ‘13th Five-Year Plan’ reviewed and approved by the Fifth Plenary Session specifically state that agricultural subsidies should be improved. The policy will certainly continue, and will only increase, not decrease.” After hearing the publicity team member's words, the villagers repeatedly said they had taken a “reassurance pill.”
Members of the Central Publicity Team for the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee said that when General Secretary Xi Jinping conducted research in Jilin Province, he had especially emphasized that agriculture must never be ignored, farmers must never be forgotten, and rural areas must never be treated with indifference. The Fifth Plenary Session attached great importance to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, and it was necessary both to develop production and to protect the environment, and to find ways to increase farmers' incomes. Building a moderately prosperous society in all respects cannot leave rural areas behind.
Having learned the most authoritative spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session from the publicity team members, the villagers of Helongzhan Village also gained confidence in increasing production and income. “In the future we will farm more land, and the government will surely support us. We are more confident about the future and will certainly be able to increase production and income.” Facing the reporter's camera, 63-year-old villager Liu Jihe spoke with a voice like a great bell.