Land redeployment accelerates economic development
( 2002-10-09 16:36 ) (8 )

A China-Germany co-operation project on land redeployment and village renovation proved successful and is expected to be spread throughout the country, according to senior officials with the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Assisted by the German Hanns Seidel Foundation, with an investment of nearly 4.5 million yuan (543,500 US dollars), the project was started in Nanzhanglou Village of Qingzhou, in East China's Shandong Province, in 1989.

The cultivable land in the village has been redeployed in a systematic way and levelled to facilitate mechanization, Wednesday's China Daily quoted Yuan Xiangsheng, general manager of the project, as saying.

Out-of-season vegetables planting, livestock rearing and agricultural by-product processing have also been introduced to the village during the project, increasing farmers' average annualincome from 1,950 yuan (236 US dollars) in 1989 to 4,600 yuan (556US dollars) last year.

The total investment in the project has reached 40 million yuan(4.8 million US dollars), with over 50 private enterprises set up there, according to Yuan.

"It has proven that land redeployment can effectively accelerate economic development in rural areas and increase farmers' income," said Vice-Minister of Land and Resources Lu Xinshe yesterday in Beijing.

The villagers have enjoyed better living conditions, education cultural activities and medical services since the project was implemented, according to Lu.

"We hope the experience gained through the project can be shared with the vast western regions of the country to help China's strategy of western development," said Rainer B.Gepperth, head of the foundation's international cooperation institute.