China to check implementation of agriculture law

BEIJING - China's top legislature will start a new wave of inspections on the implementation of its Law on Agriculture in September.

Five inspection teams, organized by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), will be sent to 10 provincial regions including Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, according to a meeting of the NPC Standing Committee held on Sunday.

Local legislatures of other provinces and regions were also ordered to check the enforcement of the law.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said in a written comment that the inspections are aimed at helping find out the prominent issues that hamper China's rural reform and development and providing suggestions to promote the agricultural modernization.

The inspections, the eighth since 2003, will focus on five major areas including the development of modern agriculture, grain safety and the protection of farmland.

Uyunqimg, vice chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, said at the meeting that it is fundamentally important to promote better implementation of the law as it provides firm legal safeguard for the development of agriculture and the improvement of living standards in rural areas.

However, China are facing a series of challenges in rural development, including weak grain productivity, lack of a long-term system for raising the farmers' income, and shortage of farmland and water resources, said Uyunqimg.

She urged all teams to finish the inspection task with high quality and ensure effective implementation of the law.