Xi stresses importance of cooperative farming

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for developing more specialized farm cooperatives while visiting a rice cooperative in northeast China.

Farmers' cooperatives are "an effective form of organization that helps increase the income of farming households and promotes the development of modern agriculture," Xi said in the city of Fuyuan in Heilongjiang Province. The president visited several cities in Heilongjiang from Monday to Wednesday.

Saying that food safety is an important foundation of national security, Xi stressed innovation in food production, optimizing production technology, implementing all supportive policies, protecting farmers' enthusiasm for their work, and improving the income from food production.

As an agricultural province and major food producer, Heilongjiang should scale up farming operations to make them more competitive and profitable. He also asked for protection and better utilization of fertile land.

Amid complex domestic and international economic conditions, Xi said it is crucial to protect and improve people's quality of life through more public funding to address concerns such as employment, education, healthcare, housing, pensions and poverty.

Xi also stressed that public policies and measures should have a stronger basis in research and reflect public opinion. The public, Xi said, must be kept fully informed of policy. Endi