The legislation is also expected to help upgrade agricultural management, adjust farming structures in tune with market demands and increase farmers' income, said Gao Dezhan, director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee under the National People's Congress (NPC), which has drafted the bill with the Ministry of Agriculture.

Participants at the ongoing 28th session of the Ninth NPC Standing Committee agreed during yesterday's panel discussion that Chinese agriculture needs more investment and that farmers are still shouldering heavy financial burdens

Legislator Chi Haibin called on the government to create a level playing field for farmers by ensuring they are not taxed more heavily than other sections of the population.

"Nowadays households engaged in farming are assuming heavier taxation than those who have shifted to other businesses and that's unfair," he said, adding that the balance of taxation between rural and urban areas should be achieved as early as possible.

Zhou Zhengqing, vice-director of the NPC Finance and Economic Committee, shared Chi's views.

"The government should increase its financial support for the farming sector," Zhou said, criticizing the provisions on government support in the draft revision for being "just too general to have any practicability."

Zhou also urged the government to offer more credit support for agricultural development.

He said financial support for the farming sector has been crippled since agricultural banks cut off their connections with rural credit co-operatives and operated as commercial banks after reform.

Zhou said this is easy to understand because no commercial bank, under fierce competition, is willing to grant loans to farmers because that will increase its loan costs.

"That's why our legislation should demand the central bank and other financial institutions enhance their support for the farming sector," he added.

( June 28, 2002)