China will encourage its farmers to use more
environmentally-friendly fertilizers and pesticides to reduce
pollution of the soil, rivers and lakes.
The document said the government pledges to make greater efforts
to tackle serious soil erosion in areas along the Yangtze and
Yellow Rivers to protect the nation's limited arable land.
Local governments have been ordered to restrict the amount of
arable land that is lost to urban growth and industrialization,
said the document.
Experts said the pledge is expected to guarantee the basic
livelihood of Chinese farmers who have lost their land to estate
development or industry without proper compensation.
The government also vows to use organic fertilizers and build
more water conservation projects.
Despite a series of policies aimed at improving the incomes and
lives of the country's 800 million farmers, including the
abolishment agricultural tax, rural life remains hard, the document
added.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2007)