Adviser calls for increased subsidies to aid rural areas

He called for the establishment of agricultural belts to ensure national food security, with pilot areas on the plains of North and Northeast China and along the Yangtze River.

"We should consider establishing a payment mechanism for compensatory transfers from the main consumption areas to the agricultural belt and establishing special taxes for that region," he said.

The electricity consumed by grain-processing enterprises in the pilot belt could be priced at the same level as agricultural electricity (0.48 yuan per kilowatt-hour, rather than the general tariff of 0.8 yuan per kWh), thus reducing the cost of each kilogram of grain by 1 cent while increasing the profits of those businesses by about 10 percent, he added.

Chen suggested that adjusting the price of electricity for the cultivation of rice, wheat and potatoes should be a priority, and major grain-growing areas would be expected to benefit first.

"It is necessary to encourage the development of breeding enterprises through land use, loans and subsidies and promote the cycle of agriculture and animal husbandry," he said.

The development of local processing companies would not only drive the expansion of rural industries, but also provide work for local residents, increasing their nonfarming income, he added.