Tengzhou and Heping were recently chosen asnational agricultural reform pilot sites, according to the Shandong Finance Department. Shandong is the only province with two pilot sites.

Twenty-one such "agriculture demonstration zones" were selected by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance with China Development Bank, China Agricultural Development Bank and China Grain Reserves Corporation to speed the development of modern agriculture.

According to the Shandong Finance Department Agricultural Bureau, the three-year pilot projects are expected to yield a 20 percent grain increase and a 10 percent increase in rural per-capita income. To finance the projects, various finance authorities will invest 600 million yuan in agricultural developement. The government will also help to attract private investment, aiming to lure some 3 billion yuan within 3 years. Flourishing demonstration zones will be awarded 10 million RMB per year.