|
Grain production per unit hits record
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-29 10:33 The total grain production in China is expected to
increase to 484 billion kilograms in 2005, 14.5 billion kg more than that of
last year, with per mu (1/15 hectare) output hitting a historical high to reach
309 kg.
"The high growth of grain production per mu shows that the
increase of China's grain production has shifted from the expansion of planting
area to the advancement of farming technology," said Chinese Agriculture
Minister Du Qinglin on Wednesday.
Statistics by the Agriculture Ministry
showed that mechanization of farming in China has reached 38 percent, and 48
percent of agricultural products were achieved due to technological
improvement.
Du said while addressing the annual working conference on
agriculture that China's grain production achieved a recovery increase in the
past five years, with production growth in 2004 and 2005 totaling 50 billion
kilograms.
During the past five years, farmers' income also grew by an
annual average of 5 percent. The farmers' net income in 2005 is expected to
reach 3,250 yuan (406 US dollars), up 314 yuan or 6 percent over the previous
year, according to Du.
"Income from non-farming wages has witnessed a
substantial increase and has become the new pillar of farmers' income growth,"
Du said.
According to the ministry's statistics, agriculture-related
industrial organizations total 114,000 in China. And 40 percent of the farmers
are engaging in non-farming industries.
Migrant workers from the
countryside have been increasing by 4.42 million annually in the past five
years, and there were 108.2 million migrant workers in China in 2005.
|
