UCA News
Contribute

Top UN accolade for Wen Jiabao

Eyebrows are raised over Wen's agriculture award
Top UN accolade for Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao (right) receives the award from FAO General Director Jose Graziano da Silva (Photo Xinhua)
Published: October 12, 2012 10:15 AM GMT
Updated: October 12, 2012 10:15 AM GMT

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has presented China's premier Wen Jiabao with its highest award, the Agricola Medal, for his dedication in promoting food security and poverty reduction in China and around the world. He was presented with the medal last week by the FAO's General Director Jose Graziano da Silva, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. According to the FAO, China’s agriculture sector is of great importance, not only serving as the foundation of the national economy, but also feeding one fifth of the world’s population with only nine percent of the world’s cultivated land. “Wen is a popular premier among farmers. He has visited rural villages many times and paid close attention to our difficulties,” said Joseph, a Catholic farmer in central Shaanxi province. However, farmers’ incomes remain very low despite government subsidies because the cost of labor, fertilizer and animal feed keep rising, Joseph said. As a result, many farmers have quit farming and become construction workers in order to make a living, he said. Inefficiencies in market mechanisms also result in small profit margins, preventing farmers from investing in modern technology to raise productivity and improve their living standards. Father John, who serves in a rural parish in northeastern China, says the premier has tried to implement farmer-friendly policies, such as agricultural tax exemption, medical services and an endowment insurance scheme. “It would have been even better if Wen received the award on behalf of numerous unprivileged farmers and spent any money on them, just like Blessed Teresa of Calcutta used the  money from the Nobel Peace Prize to build more homes for the destitute,” the priest said. At the medal ceremony, last week, Wen, 70,  said that China’s grain output has been increasing for nine consecutive years, with this year’s output about 150 million tons more than that of 2003, the year he took office. He pledged that China will seek steady growth in agricultural products and enable Chinese farmers to share the achievements resulting from the country’s rapid economic development and social progress. Father John, however, doubted whether these promises would be realized, noting that local officials often ignore the central government’s farmer-friendly policies. “In order to make money, the officials deliberately abandoned fertile farmland for years and let it become wasteland. Then they redevelop it to build factories or other real estate,” he said. He also pointed out that many farmers receive very little when their farmland is confiscated by the government or purchased by developers. “Since farmers know little about legal matters, they are helpless when faced with collusion between officials and developers. The central government has prohibited forced land acquisition, but its orders are not observed at the local level.” The Chinese government claims farmers have got richer, but “this is has not really happened.”  They are comparing things with the past, not with farmers in other countries, Father John said. This is the second time the FAO has awarded the Agricola Medal to a Chinese statesman. The first was to president Jiang Zemin in 1998. Related reports Gansu fights back against sandstormsFamilies gain income and confidence

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia