BEIJING -- A total of 200 major grain-producing Chinese counties will pilot agricultural disaster insurance this year and next year to improve their ability to counter natural disasters, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The 200 pilot counties, which mainly plant rice, wheat and corn, are located in 13 major grain-producing provinces in China, including the top three producers, Heilongjiang, Henan and Shandong.

The pilot projects will focus on improving insurance coverage and compensation standards for farmers with relatively large grain cultivation operations.

The finance ministry encouraged local governments to explore customized insurance services and share experience.

The disaster insurance system is designed to ease financial burdens for the government as post-disaster reconstruction is mostly financed by the state.