This is a historical breakthrough in the country's agricultural production after a household contract responsibility system was introduced in the late 1970s, said Huang Zuhui, an expert on the modernization of agriculture, indicating that the economic system is shifting towards a mature market economy,

Zhejiang is the only pilot region to experiment with the reform. The reform in the grain cultivation system was carried out to remove the burdens on local farmers, who had to sell 750 million kilograms of grain to the state annually, according to the news agency.

Chen Lijun, a farmer in Lin'an County in Zhejiang, said, "I fully support the reform. From now on, I can devote myself to grape cultivation. I can earn at least 30,000 yuan (US$3,614) from a hectare of grapevines, much more than revenue from selling grain."

"I have never experienced such freedom in growing crops over the past 50 years," he added.

To feed a population of more than 1.2 billion, the government has maintained the practice of issuing mandatory plans for annual grain production for decades. Only after selling enough grain to meet the state quota, can farmers grow vegetables, fruit and other crops in their contracted fields.

Because of bumper grain harvests for five consecutive years from 1995, the country now has a temporary grain surplus. The per capita share of grain, meat, eggs and milk has exceeded or neared the world average, meaning that the country has basically solved its food-supply problem, Xinhua said.

China now has a grain stockpile of 500 million tons, equivalent to the annual consumption of all the people in the country.

Farmers in some northern provinces are finding it difficult to sell their grain, making it possible for some prosperous areas to grow fewer grain crops and expand the acreage for high-quality farm produce.

In Zhejiang, the profit from vegetable production is five times that from grain cultivation and the profit from aquatic cultivation is seven times higher.

With an improvement in the quality of life, local people prepare to pay more to buy quality rice produced in other areas, instead of consuming their own product, which tastes coarse because of a short growing period and poor variety.

Last year, Zhejiang farmers converted 466,600 hectares of grain fields into vegetable plots, fish ponds, flower beds or orchards. The total acreage under grain crops is expected to shrink by 200,000 hectares this year, while the acreage under cash crops will expand considerably.

When Zhejiang cuts its grain output, it will have to buy 6 billion kilograms of grain from other areas, creating a big market for the leading grain producers in northern and western areas and solving the problem of sluggish grain sales.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/02/2001)