Northwestern Province Takes Steps to Support Tobacco Production

Source from:  Shaanxi Daily newspaper 04/07/2005

Northwest China's Shaanxi Province - one of the major tobacco-producing regions in China - is taking steps to extend financial support to tobacco growers in the province to arouse their enthusiasm for tobacco growing at a time when tobacco prices are relatively low in China. Because of the government's adoption of a new policy to raise grain prices that has made tobacco prices in China comparatively low, Chinese farmers are less enthusiastic for growing tobacco than they did a few years ago. According to a provincial teleconference on tobacco production held by Shaanxi Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Administration on March 30, the provincial government has decided to extend a total of 56.63 million yuan (6.82 million U.S. dollars) in subsidies to tobacco growers in Shaanxi in 2005. The subsidies to be extended will be raised from the levy on income from tobacco sales in the province. At the teleconference, the provincial tobacco monopoly administration required the tobacco monopoly administrative authorities at all levels in Shaanxi to give top priority to determining the areas of farmland for growing tobacco in 2005, well implementing the government policy of supporting tobacco growing and fully delivering the subsidies of 65.63 million yuan (7.90 million U.S. dollars) directly to tobacco growers in the province in four major forms of material supplies. Besides, the provincial tobacco monopoly administration also required government authorities in the tobacco-growing areas in the province to strengthen publicity of the government policy of supporting tobacco growing, in order to set tobacco growers' mind at ease and arouse their enthusiasm for tobacco growing. It urged the tobacco monopoly administrative authorities at all levels in the province to strictly follow the subsidization standards of the State in extending subsidies, ensure the delivery of supplies, regulate the extension of subsidies, strengthen supervision and control and prohibit any act of retaining or misappropriating subsidies for other purposes, to guarantee that the subsidies will all be fully delivered to the hands of tobacco growers. It called for the establishment of a system of responsibility for ensuring tobacco growing in Shaanxi in 2005, and urged leading officials to personally go to the fields to oversee the determination of farmland for tobacco growing. It also urged the tobacco monopoly administrative authorities at all levels in the province to strengthen the provision of services for tobacco growers; speed up the generalization of the application of advanced and practical technology; strengthen the professional training of tobacco growers; manage to raise the rate of application of advanced technology; strengthen the extension of support to big tobacco-growing households that are successful in applying advanced technology; accelerate the development of tobacco production bases in Shaanxi under the "tobacco growers plus tobacco companies plus tobacco manufacturers" formula; give play to the advantage of production of tobacco products with local characteristics; enable tobacco growers to increase income; and manage to raise the efficiency of the production of leaf tobacco as a resource. Enditem