Chinese farmers' per capita income up 16.1 percent in first half year

Chinese farmers' income scored the highest growth rate of 16.1 percent in the first half of this year, with their per capita income reaching 1,345 yuan (about 162.5 US dollars).

Even with the price factor deducted, the growth rate reached 10.9 percent, surging 8.4 percentage points over the same period of 2003.

The growth rate sets a new record for the past eight years, said Chen Xiaohua, director of the industry policy and regulation department of the Ministry of Agriculture, at a national rural conference held in Guiyang, capital city of southwest China's Guizhou province.

Chen cited the year 2004 as the best year for the increased income of China's rural people in accordance with the outcome of the latest survey done by the National Bureau of Statistics on rural residents' income.

The Chinese government has in recent years continued to adjust the country's agricultural and rural economic structures, taking it as an effective way to increase the income of rural population, Chen said.

In the future, he noted, China will further deepen the reform of agricultural structure, fully implement the plan of developing the preponderant agricultural areas, and strengthen the construction of weak rural industry band.

In addition, added Chen, China will also steadily cultivate new growth point of animal husbandry by speeding up farming and fishery business, so as to make its rural products more competitive on the world market, acknowledged Chen.

The Chinese government also decides to promote the growth of the secondary and tertiary industries in the rural areas through such efforts as furthering structural reforms in the township enterprises and speeding up the industrialization process of China's agricultural industries.