ABSTRACT
Agriculture accounts for 9 to 12 per cent of China’s total fiscal expenditure. Labour engaged in the construction of farmland water conservation infrastructure contributed 54 per cent of the growth in gross value of agricultural output prior to reform in 1978. Capital inputs at the time were still lower than those made by technical inputs, which stood at 61.3 per cent; but the contribution to the value of agricultural output growth from capital and fertilizer increments reached 44.7 per cent and 53.7 per cent respectively between 1983 and 1987; increases in the multiple-cropping index added about 20 per cent (see Table 5.1). Subsequently, China has been making comprehensive, large-scale investments in water conservancy construction, fertilizer production and utilization, improvements in crop varieties and animal breeds, road transportation and market facility construction. Institutional reform alongside market liberalization has supported all these efforts. In contrast, owing to financial weakness and a comparative lack of macro-development strategies, the agricultural input of African nations accounted for only 5 per cent or so of their fiscal budgets. Added to this, these low budgets have been directed primarily at export-orientated economic crop production rather than food crops that play key roles in food security maintenance. The Chinese example demonstrates that fiscal support for farming and rural areas is the foundation for sustainable agricultural development. China's Agricultural Expenditure and Share https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Year
Total Agricultural Expenditure (CNY100 million)
Agricultural GDP (CNY100 million)
Agricultural Expenditure Share of Agricultural GDP (%)
Agricultural Expenditure Share of Total Fiscal Expenditure (%)
1978
151
1027.5
14.7
13.4
1980
150
1371.6
10.9
12.2
1985
154
2564.4
6.0
7.7
1990
308
5062.0
6.1
10.0
1991
348
5342.2
6.5
10.3
1992
376
5866.6
6.4
10.0
1993
440
6963.8
6.3
9.5
1994
533
9572.7
5.6
9.2
1995
575
12135.8
4.7
8.4
1996
700
14015.4
5.0
8.8
1997
766
14441.9
5.3
8.3
1998
1,155
14817.6
7.8
10.7
1999
1,086
14770.0
7.4
8.2
2000
1,232
14944.7
8.2
7.8
2001
1,457
15781.3
9.2
7.7
2002
1,581
16537.0
9.6
7.2
2003
1,754
17381.7
10.1
7.1
2004
2,338
21412.7
10.9
9.7
2005
2,450
23070.4
10.6
7.2
2006
3,173
24737.0
12.8
7.9
Source: China Statistical Yearbook, 2007