China Adds 810 Mln Yuan to Comprehensive Agro-DevelopmentChina will spend 6.1 billion yuan this year for comprehensive agriculture development, a rise of 810 million yuan over last year, according to an official from the Ministry of Finance.The fund, provided by the central government, also includes 607 million yuan in loans from the World Bank, said Wang Zheng, deputy director of the State Office of Comprehensive Agriculture Development under the ministry, at the National Work Conference on Comprehensive Agriculture Development. He said the increased funds will center on restructuring agriculture, improving low- and medium-yield farmland, and promoting agro-technology and the environment. China has been successful in its wide-ranging agro-development project launched in 1988. Statistics show that the project's pilot zones, involving some 1,500 counties, have increased grain production capacity by over 53 million tons annually, and farmers' annual income there is 260 yuan higher than in other areas. Funding for the project has come mainly from the central and local governments, who have divided their investments equally, and several bank loans and overseas contributions. |
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