Ministry of Agriculture and China Development Bank sign Memorandum on Planning and Cooperation

February 18, 2011

On February 18, 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and China Development Bank (CDB) signed the Memorandum on Planning and Cooperation in Beijing. This marks a major step for both sides in thoroughly applying the Scientific Outlook on Development, creating new ways of offering financial aid to agriculture, raising the level of financial service in agricultural development, and promoting agricultural modernization. Agriculture Minister Han Changfu and CDB Chairman Chen Yuan attended the signing ceremony and noted that both sides would strengthen cooperation on planning, monographic researches, and pilot and demonstration projects to jointly promote a sound and fast development of agriculture and rural economy in China.

According to the Memorandum, MOA and the Bank will use planning work as a platform to give full play to their comparative advantages the former in organization and coordination in growth of agriculture and rural economy and the latter in development finance to carry out planning and cooperation on major tasks, fields, policies and projects with respect to investment and financing set in the 12th Five-Year Plan; to conduct in-depth study on issues concerning agricultural financial markets, systems and credit development; to launch pilot and demonstration activities for key agricultural projects, bases and agro-businesses; and to support agriculture to go global .

Han noted that during the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan enormous financial support had been provided to the development of agriculture and rural economy, which however was still confronted with such problems as unbalanced supply and demand and unsmooth bank lending channels etc. The signing of the Memorandum to explore and set up an investment system for the development of agricultural modernization would represent an innovation in providing financial support for agriculture and an important channel for sharing complementary advantages for better future, hence casting positive and far-reaching influence. MOA and CDB would strengthen the cooperation and set up a desirable working mechanism in a concerted effort to promote sound and fast development of agriculture and rural economy.

Chen said that as a major bank in the field of national medium and long-term investment and financing CDB had always put agriculture high on the agenda of its assistance. The cooperation with MOA this time would focus on agricultural planning of the 12th Five-Year Plan through combining MOA s advantage in organization and coordination with CDB s in development finance. Meanwhile, pilot and demonstration projects would be launched as a way to support agro-businesses to go global .

It is learned that by the end of 2010, CDB s loan balance in the field of agriculture reached about 19.47 billion yuan, of which that for agriculture going global programs stood at $420 million, thus playing an important role in supporting agricultural development. The cooperation on planning will direct more non-government inputs to agriculture and rural economy, improve policies and financial services for agricultural and rural infrastructure projects as well as exploration and utilization of overseas agricultural resources, and help strengthen multi-lateral cooperation with competent authorities, banks and agro-enterprises so as to improve sound and fast development of agriculture and rural economy.

Wei Chaoan, MOA Vice Minister, and Gao Jian, CDB Vice Governor, signed the agreement as representatives of both sides. MOA Chief Economists Chen Mengshan and Yang Shaopin as well as officials from relevant departments of the two sides also attended the ceremony.