Efforts to Relieve Rural Plight?
According to a Chinese News Agency, a joint effort between the Chinese government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is promoting a project to provide new technology and greater expertise to poverty-stricken rural areas of China. The four-year project "Alleviating Rural Poverty through Innovative Technologies Transfer," with the help of $4 million will set up a task force to introduce better technology to farmers and provide methods that will increase their income.
Taking this new project into account, as well as an earlier blog regarding the massacre of 70 farmers in a rural province, it seems the Chinese government has somewhat of a double standard here. They are promoting rural farming development on one hand, but taking away the commodity (land) that makes farming possible on the other. I find this to be extremely The UNDP representative in China said "We hope that the project will help generate new job opportunities in local communities and allow agriculture technology experts from government agencies, academies, research institutes, and other organizations to participate more effectively in lifting farmers out of poverty." On the surface, this new program seems to be a positive step, but I don't see how it can accomplish much good, with farmers facing the loss of land to the government. It seems the first step to increasing the wages of farmers in rural areas would not taking away their livelihood. As the daughter of a farmer I know that if his land were ever taken, it would cut him to the core.
Source:http://www.china.org.cn/english/scitech/166402.htm
posted by Mulan @ 7:38 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I agree that it's a horrible thing to take a farmer's land from him. But, at the same time I think China is trying to be more efficient in agriculture. Techonlogy in the U.S. has allowed more people to spend less time raising food and more time in various pursuits which often benefit our economy. I hope that if China is seeking to be more efficient in agriculture, it will also seek to provide more opportunities to those who may be put of a farming job by new technology. Thereby benefiting many people.
If the government is making an effort to help farmers by sending them new equipment and technology it kind of sounds like a waste of money. They are constantly taking land from Chinese farmers and therefore, at one point, they are going to be taking back their "technology". It is a waste of money, and it seems that if they want to help the farmers out then step one would be to stop taking their land. It also seems that those that are farming probably have little knowledge of technology and it is going to cost more money to help them use the machines. This is just more money lost in the future. Why don't they save that money, and that way they can stop taking farm land to make more money because they will already have it.
I think we should keep in mind that $4 million over four years is chump change. This could just be a token move.
I wouldn't doubt if rural farmers don't see a yuan of that money. If a task force is being set up over the course of four years, it is very likely that all of that money could go to employing the task force. I am also sure that none of the rural farmers will be paid to be on that task force and will therefore further not see the money. I see that technology is a good thing and so is the training these people will provide, but the effect that money will have will probably be minimal at the outcome.
I think it is important for the government to "right its wrongs," but it needs to make a more honest effort in doing so. It could start by putting an end to the unjustifiable usurpation of farmland.
I think it would be a great step for the Chinese to increase wages, raising more people into the middle class.
Whether the government would actually put the exhaustive effort into helping the people, whilst risking any sense of control, is another story.
It is interesting that China is receiving aid from the UN for it’s rural farmers, but at the same time will not support actions in the Sudan because it conflicts with China receiving oil. It seems that when it is convenient and beneficial for China to use the UN it does.
I might be somewhat biased, coming from a farming heritage, but forcing people to quit farming is not something that is good for society. While as Qinorozhou stated technology has enabled less need for farmers it is not a positive action to force these people to give up something that is engrained in them. When a farmer loses his land, whether it be because land is taken by the government or because they can no longer function economically, it hurts. I have seen many family friends have to sell their farms, with much anguish, I can only imagine if the government had taken their land away how much more that would have hurt! Farming is something that is in people's blood and forcing them to quit is like tearing out their hearts!
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