Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
that is, 50 per cent and 39 per cent of rural net income, respectively.
Thanks to the rapd development of the rural non-agrcultural sectors
over the past 20 years, non-agricultural activities provided 44 per cent of
farmers' ncomes (off-farm wage ncome plus ncome from non-agrcultural
household busnesses).
Grain outputs, yields and inputs
Farming remains the main agricultural activity. In 2000, farming accounted
for 56 per cent of the gross value of agrcultural output. Gran producton
has been the most mportant component of farmng. A rough calculaton
usng output and average prces of major gran products shows that n
gross value terms total gran output accounted for 65 per cent of farmng
and 38 per cent of agricultural output in 1998. China is the largest grain
producer n the world wth output rangng n recent years between 460
and 510 mllon tonnes (unprocessed gran). Ths output accounted for over
one-fifth of total world grain output (see Table A5.1).
Grain output has increased significantly since the beginning of agricultural
reform in 1978. It was 300 million tonnes in 1978, and reached its highest
level to date of 512 million tonnes in 1998 (grain output declined to 462
mllon tonnes n 2000). The large ncrease n gran output can be manly
attrbuted to four effects: the market-orented reforms and the adopton
of the household responsibility system in the early 1980s; increases in
domestc gran prces; techncal progress (for example. development of
hybrd rce); and contnued ncreases n nputs.
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Grain output growth was due entirely to increases in yields, as arable
land area has been slowly declnng. The nsttutonal reforms and techncal
progress made the major contrbutons to ncreases n yelds up untl the
mid 1980s, and then these effects gradually diminished. Inputs such as
fertilisers, insecticides and irrigation grew faster than output growth during
the pre reform period, but rose more slowly than output during the reform
period (Wang 2000a). Still, the intensity of material inputs has reached
a hgh level relatve to other major gran producers (see Table A5.2). The
average gran yelds for Chna as a whole reached 4.95 tonnes per hectare
(measured by sown areas) in 1998-99, which is significantly higher than in
most developng countres and s close to that of ndustralsed countres.
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