On February 22, 2022, China released No.1 Central Document for the year–Guidelines on Comprehensively Pushing Forward Key Tasks in Rural Revitalization in 2022. The document outlines the priorities in rural revitalization, and calls for efforts to make new strides in both rural revitalization and the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.
The document points out the need to guarantee the country’s food security and to make sure people would not slip back into poverty in large numbers.
To guarantee food security, the government must:
● Keep both sown areas and grain output stable, and ensure the supply of meat and vegetables as well as reasonable returns for grain growers;
●Push forward structural adjustments in agriculture, including increasing the soybean and oilseed production capacity and adjusting the supply of major agricultural products in a coordinated manner; and
●Take the strictest and most effective measures to protect farmland and complete the phased tasks in maintaining high-quality farmland.
To make sure people would not slip back into poverty in large numbers, the government needs to improve the assistance monitoring mechanism, help the people who have already moved out of poverty to steadily increase their income, strengthen support for key counties eligible for rural revitalization assistance and for resettlement areas, and see to it assistance policies are implemented effectively.
The document calls for solid actions in the three key areas of rural development, rural construction and rural governance. To promote rural development, in particular through industries, the government needs to facilitate integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas, bolster the industries that can raise people’s income and the commercial systems at county levels, help farmers find jobs or start businesses, and promote green development of agriculture and rural areas. To steadily push forward rural construction, the government needs to make progress in the implementation mechanisms for rural construction, improve rural living environment and infrastructure, vigorously advance the digital countryside initiative and make basic public services more equally accessible within counties. To effectively improve rural governance, the government needs to build up the strength of primary-level organizations, develop innovative platforms for promoting cultural and ethical advancement and safeguard security and stability in rural areas.
