China's policy readjustment is set to focus on improving agricultural and rural economic structure and increasing the income of farmers, while sharpening the market competitiveness of the country's farm produce, Minister of Agriculture Du Qinglin said.

In outlining what he called the "stern challenges" facing China's agricultural sector, the minister said that agricultural products that require large areas of land - notably grain and cotton - are being hit hard by the WTO entry.

Labor-intensive products, such as vegetables and horticultural products, may fare somewhat better in the short term, but will face equally difficult challenges in the long term, according to Du.

This situation, with the stress on labor intensive production, will aggravate the country's difficulty in adding to the coffers of the farmers, he told the two-day Workshop on Agricultural Policy Adjustment in China after WTO Accession.

China will borrow the successful and advanced experience the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and its members accumulated in applying the WTO rules to adapting to domestic agricultural policies, he told the workshop co-sponsored by his ministry and OECD.

In its latest analytical paper on China's development, the OECD said the accession of China to the WTO marks an important milestone along the reform path China has been following for more than 20 years, rather than a new direction.

In improving productivity in the agricultural sector, OECD suggests China "foster cropping patterns and other agricultural policies based on emerging market opportunities and comparative regional advantages, rather than on the traditional yardstick of increasing grain output in all regions."

This, in fact, coincides with China's policy adjustment objective of shifting the focus from quantity to product quality, according to some experts.

Li Zhenwei, director of the ministry's policy and regulation department, said China has already made marked progress in optimizing its agricultural structure.

Acreage reserved for cash and fodder crops increased by 6 million hectares last year, up 30.6 percent from figures for 1998, and 16.7 million hectares of the country's rice paddies - more than half of the country's total area planted in rice - are producing top-grade strains, he said.

With regard to the country's support policy for agriculture, the official said China will adopt rational measures within the framework of WTO agricultural agreement to readjust the domestic agricultural support system.

(China Daily June 4, 2002)