The Ling Weichu¡¯s, a 3-generation family of 5 people in Lingjia Village, Huaxin Town, Qingpu District, have been used to recording their income and expenditures since 2002. Even RMB1 from selling wasters, or for buying sauces, has never been missed in the account. Among the top 800 families listed by the Qingpu Farmers¡¯ Investigation Team from all towns and villages at equal distance in the District according to their net income per capita, the Ling¡¯s is one of them. The investigation by the Farmers¡¯ Investigation Team of Qingpu Statistics Bureau shows that since 2002, Qingpu farmers¡¯ net income per capita had jumped by 8.4% annually from RMB6,152 in 2002 to RMB8,751 in 2006. The total average expenses of eight indicators of their daily life, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, consumer products, entertainment and medical treatment, were up 10.4% from RMB5,735 in 2005 to RMB6,334 in 2006, 2% higher than the income rise. Moreover, in the farmers¡¯ total expenditure, the ratio of staple food declined while that of non-staple food surged, with the Angle Modulus falling to 34.7%, an all time low.

More Money for House-purchasing Expenditure, Less for Clothing

The Ah Fa¡¯s, from some Xicen Village in Jinze Town, bought a secondhand house in Jiejinggang of downtown Qingpu at more than RMB0.4 million in 2006 for the convenience of looking after their middle school son studying there. Among the 800 families surveyed, those who bought houses in towns like the Ah Fa¡¯s account for 22%. The house-purchasing expenditure of Qingpu farmers jumped by 34.6% from RMB1,017 in 2005 to RMB1, 369 in 2006. Besides the price increase of houses, the main reason for the climbing house-purchasing expenditure is that more and more farmers want to buy a house in the town. It is very popular for farmers in the East Qingpu, who get rich first, to buy houses in downtown area. So do more and more farmers in the West Qingpu now. According to incomplete statistics, the farmers purchase more than 50% new houses in new blocks in the town.

Among the farmers¡¯ total expenditure, the expenses of food were up 7.5% from RMB2,042 in 2005 to RMB2,195 in 2006. The expenses of clothes declined by 2.7% from RMB305 in 2005 to RMB297 in 2006. According to market analysis upon investigation, the decrease in clothing consumption is not because farmers buy fewer clothes but because the price slump of clothes with medium and low prices in 2006 had saved a lot of money for the farmers.

Education Burden Eased, Other Expenses Pushed up

Qingpu farmers¡¯ commodity expenditure gained 9.2% from RMB358 in 2005 to RMB391 in 2006, while that of transportation and communication up 26.9% from RMB629 in 2005 to RMB798 in 2006. The Ma¡¯s, a 4-people family in Luxiang Village of Huaxin Town, has two mobile phones, one fixed telephone and a Mulan motorcycle. Modern farmers pay much attention to news and information. With the decrease of communication fee, more and more farmers buy mobile phones. Computers have already entered the farmers¡¯, who are quite familiar with the Internet. Mulan motorcycles and electric bicycles are replacing bicycles. The farmers¡¯ expenditures of education, culture and entertainment were RMB707 in 2006, up 0.4% from RMB704 in 2005. Since incidental fees of nine-year compulsory education in the country have been exempted since 2006, farmers are greatly relieved from the education burden. For example, the Ma¡¯s saved RMB192 incidental fees from their Grade Two daughter in a primary school.

Insurance Perfected, Life Improved

The 800 accounts of farmers like the Ling Weichu¡¯s clearly reflect the main reason for consumption¡¯s outrunning the income rise is that farmers¡¯ burden has been eased. For example, the state has exempted the agricultural tax and all incidental fees of compulsory education. The high medical treatment fee was always the tough problem. Farmers were afraid of illness and worried out their medical care when they were old. Ling said that in the past, farmers couldn¡¯t afford to see a doctor, neglecting all minor ailments, suffering from moderate diseases and dying of severe illnesses. But now, various insurance funds, including town and rural endowment insurance as well as rural severe illness plans, have relieved farmers from the burden of medical treatment and anxiety of health care. ¡°Now we can afford!¡± said Ling.

Statistics show that expenditures of medical treatment and health care slumped by 16.7% from RMB564 in 2005 to RMB470 in 2006. By the end of 2006, the number of people with the town endowment insurance had reached 122,088, accounting for 95.2% of the total. Plus the rural severe illness insurance plans, rural insurance for medical care has been continuously perfected, reducing the medical care burden of Qingpu farmers. Besides, upon investigation, the number of main durable consumables (washing machines, color televisions, air-conditioners, motorcycles, computers and automobiles) of every 100 farmers had increased from 573 in 2002 to 1,005 in 2006, up 75.4%. The much-improved living standard and life quality of Qingpu farmers have neared that of a city life.