What are the three areas where efforts can be focused to support farmers in increasing their incomes?

“We must improve the policy system that supports farmers' income growth and do everything possible to broaden the channels for farmers' income growth.” Zhang Hongyu, Director of the Department of Rural Economic System and Operation Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, said this at the 2015 10th China Comprehensive Well-off Forum held a few days ago.

Zhang Hongyu believes efforts can be focused on the following 3 areas: effectively creating a favorable atmosphere for promoting farmers' income growth, increasing agricultural investment, improving farmers' production and living conditions, and strengthening government transfer payments; effectively implementing the target requirements for farmers' income growth, carrying one blueprint through to the end; and effectively achieving key breakthroughs, paying more attention to advancing urbanization, promoting the transfer and employment of surplus rural labor, paying more attention to the income problems of farmers in key regions and focusing relevant policies on impoverished areas and the western region, and paying more attention to adapting measures to local conditions so that policies are not applied in a one-size-fits-all manner.

In Zhang Hongyu's view, China has both highlights and challenges in promoting farmers' income growth. The consecutive years of bumper harvests of grain and other important agricultural products, as well as the steadily narrowing income gap between urban and rural residents, are the two biggest highlights.“Of course, the challenges are not small either. Affected by increased downward pressure on the economy and the slow recovery of the international economy, the growth rate of farmers' wage income has declined. And in the past one or two years, especially this year, from grain to fruit, from livestock products to other agricultural products, prices have fallen across the board, and the impact on farmers' household operating income is also very real. In the long term, as China's economy moves from high-speed growth to medium-to-high-speed growth, the above effects will continue.” Zhang Hongyu said.