Authorities need to do much more to improve the lives of mainland farmers, experts who attended a forum on life in the countryside said yesterday.
Seven experts, including scholars and village party secretaries, took part in the forum, organised by the Communist Party publicity department and the People's Daily. The discussions were broadcast on the newspaper's website.
Wen Tiejun , a leading expert on mainland rural affairs, stressed actions were more important than words in helping to improve farmers' lives.
Professor Wen, of the People's University, said although many villages in coastal provinces were relatively affluent, the cultural life of most farmers remained poor.
He also said that although the government had spent billions of yuan in rural areas, much had been spent on maintaining the operation of local governments, while spending on education, health care, culture and science and technology remained grossly inadequate.
The lack of attention to these areas would fuel superstition in the countryside.
