Economists and sociologists call more effective measures to boost rural development when the annual session of China's National People's Congress started on Friday.

Economic development in rural areas remains sluggish even though the national economy keeps growing rapidly and the authorities should focus more on rural problems, especially the increasing income gap between farmers and urban populations, experts believe.

The need to raise farmers' incomes is important and urgent," said Li Ranyou, deputy director of agricultural administration of central Henan Province. "Henan, with over 70 million farmers, is one of China's main food production areas. It's equally important to spur economic and social improvement in the villages."

In order to earn more, many farmers had flocked to the cities for work over the last two decades. Zhang Haiqin, a leading rural economist, said farmers earned more than previously, but they faced many obstacles in improving their standards of living.

Many farmer workers faced delays in their salaries, city authorities neglected their legal rights and interests, and they had difficulties sending their children to good schools, Zhang said.

In recent years, the development of the rural economy has lagged behind that of the cities, and many farmers living conditions had not noticeably improved, said Niu Xuezhong, a member of Henan committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

China needed balanced development of rural and urban areas, and farmers expected more opportunities and equal treatment, said Niu, also the director of the committee of agricultural affairs under Henan committee of the CPPCC.

Early this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued a "No. 1 Document" on policies to boost farmer's incomes. The draft document was put forward for in-depth discussion at a national working conference on rural issues last December, and the major points were released early February.

For five successive years from 1982 and 1986, the central leadership issued five "No. 1 Documents" on agriculture, the countryside and farmers, which liberated Chinese farmers in agricultural production and resulted in rapid development of the rural economy.

China's grain output has been declining since 1999. Last year's production was 430.65 billion kilograms, 5.8 percent less than 2002. At the same time, demand for grain totaled 485 billion kilograms. Experts attributed the fall to many factors, including tax burdens and lack of incentive to grow grain because of low prices.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2004)