BEIJING -- China strengthened financial support for rural areas, the agriculture sector and farmers in the first quarter of this year, with related loans and insurance premiums logging rapid expansion.

By the end of March, the country's outstanding agriculture-related inclusive loans stood at 11.47 trillion yuan (about $1.66 trillion), surging 21.2 percent year on year, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The growth was 10 percentage points higher than the average growth of all loans, the commission said, adding that the loans saw rapid expansion in multiple fields, such as farmland, agricultural technology and rural infrastructure construction.

During the January-March period, China's agricultural insurance premiums neared 40.99 billion yuan, soaring 32.15 percent from the same period in 2022.

In the next stage, more efforts will be made to guide financial institutions to ramp up support for agricultural development and comprehensive rural revitalization by fully ensuring food security, securing stable production and supply of key farm produce, and consolidating poverty alleviation achievements, the commission said.