The average cash income of Chinese farmers increased 11.4 percent in the
first three quarters to 2,762 yuan (350 U.S. dollars), the National Development
and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Wednesday.
Taking inflation into
account, the actual growth rate was about six percent for the whole year,
according to a report on the NDRC website.
The growth of incomes for
farmers for the the whole year was likely to surpass that of last year, thanks
mainly to new government policies designed to support the development of
agriculture.
These include the cancellation of agriculture tax, increased
government subsidies to farmers and improved working conditions for migrant
workers.
The report says incomes from farming were likely to rise this
year as a result of higher production of cereals, cotton, poultry and other
products.
It predicts that farmers' incomes from non-farming work could
increase remarkably as a result of rising wage levels.
In the first nine
months, 95.79 million farmers left their homes to work in towns, a rise of 3.8
percent from the same period last year.
Higher government subsidies also
boosted incomes, the report says.
Central government spending on
agriculture is expected to reach 339.7 billion yuan in 2006, an increase of 42.2
billion yuan from last year.
Farmers are expected to receive 31 billion
yuan in subsidies for grain production, improved breeds, farming machine
procurement, fertilizer and diesel, double that of 2005, the report
says.
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