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Countries and Regions Country Assistance Plans Document
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Country Assistance Plans - People's Republic of China : III. Sector Strategies
A. Agriculture1. Agriculture and Rural Development56. Food security and the improvement of market mechanisms will continue to be the central goal of PRC’s agricultural policy. The National Long-Term Economic Plan calls for annual farmer income growth of 4 percent, maintenance of “near” food self-sufficiency, and elimination of absolute poverty in rural areas. Past emphasis on grain production has resulted in the conversion of some fragile ecosystems - wetlands, forests and pastures - into cultivated lands. Given the arable land constraints (0.1 hectare per capita and declining), efforts must focus on using an integrated approach to agriculture that promotes sustainability and environmental protection while increasing productivity and developing marginal land. 57. Consistent with these goals and constraints of agricultural policy, the key elements of the government’s agricultural development strategy include: (i) protecting arable land from desertification and urban/industrial encroachment; (ii) improving agricultural production technology; (iii) improving research, support services and delivery of inputs; (iv) enhancing farm infrastructure including irrigation and drainage facilities; (v) improving postharvest handling, storage, distribution and marketing facilities; (vi) integrating crop production with forestry, livestock, and aquaculture, whenever feasible; (vii) providing market-based production incentives to farmers by deepening agricultural reforms; and (viii) creating off-farm employment opportunities through the development of rural agroprocessing industries. 58. The ADB’s strategy for the agriculture sector will support the Government’s development strategy by providing financial assistance, either direct lending or channeled through financial intermediaries, to projects that have a significant impact on agricultural productivity, rural income growth and employment generation, value-added economic activities, and environment protection in rural areas. The strategy will emphasize poverty alleviation and private sector development through improved efficiencies in the area of agricultural production, quality control, processing and marketing as well as integrated transportation, distribution and information networks with major urban centres. 59. ADB’s operations in the agriculture sector will include: (i) the Yunnan Comprehensive Agricultural Development and Biodiversity Conservation that will assist in stimulating agricultural growth in a poor area, conserving biodiversity and alleviating rural poverty; and (ii) the Second Fujian Soil Conservation and Rural Development that will build on the successful experience of ADB’s first project in this area. 2. Forestry and Natural Resources60. In the aftermath of the 1998 and 1999 floods, the Government sought ADB assistance to address natural resource management issues. An ADB-funded study on Strategic Options for the Water Sector (completed in May 1999) provides strong policy foundations for a portfolio of natural resources projects. To continue ADB's policy and strategic role in the water resources sector, ADTAs are included in the program to develop National Strategies for Soil and Water Conservation, and to undertake related policy work under a cluster TA on Trans-Jurisdiction Environmental Management. The Program also includes Strategic Planning for the Yellow River Basin which will help to formulate strategies and an action plan for overcoming increasingly severe water shortages in the lower river basin by improving the efficiency of utilization of irrigation diversions. 61. In response to the Government's request, ADB will take a lead role among donors in trying to mobilize GEF funds for integrated ecosystem management, aimed at optimizing synergies between land degradation and the GEF focal areas (climate change, biodiversity conservation, international waters, and ozone depletion). In this way the Government aims to formulate a partnership agreement with GEF defining a coordinated and integrated response to land degradation in the arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid ecosystems of western areas in PRC. The partnership (with a 10-15 year horizon) will promote the integration of the TFYPs of the Ministries of Agriculture and Water Resources (MOA and MWR), and the State Administrations for Forestry and Environmental Protection (SFA and SEPA), and will comprise a package of policy reforms, institutional changes, and a core set of investment projects complemented by sector studies and advisory technical assistance for a GEF Program Approach for Land Degradation (Development of GEF/PRC Partnership on Land Degradation). 62. Soil and water conservation projects, with a strong poverty alleviation contribution, is an important area in the future program. ADB will focus on sustainable management of upland areas to protect and enhance existing forest cover, promote increased cultivation of stabilizing plant species which can also provide improved incomes for local farmers, and reduce the sediment loads carried by the rivers. The Yellow River Flood Management Project, Songhua River Flood Management Project (GEF cofinancing for biodiversity conservation component is anticipated), and the Ningxia Shapoutou Water Resources and Irrigation Development Project will be designed to reach the poor areas and the needs of the absolute poor, mostly minority groups.
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