The another important goal of the investment is to correct the big income gap between cities and the countryside, he said.
China's No. 1 document, promulgated on Jan. 30 by the central committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, the country's Cabinet, was centered on combating rural problems that affected a population of 900 million. This was the fifth consecutive year in which the No. 1 central document focused on agriculture.
Under such guidance, an annual financial budget planned a 23.4 percent increase in direct subsidies to farmers, and doubling education, culture and health expenses in the countryside.
Premier Wen said in his report that more channels will be developed to increase rural income. Specific measures include accelerating the development of high-yield, high-quality, high-efficiency agriculture, building modern marketing network for rural areas, and stepping up vocational education and technical training for the rural people.
Han Jun, head of the rural department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the promised investment sent a positive message and will continue to have a substantial effect in agriculture.
Farmers in China have already seen an income rise with state input. Yang Chuanren, a farmer in central China's Henan Province, saw his family income doubled from 40,000 yuan in 2006 to 80,000 yuan last year, after he bought a wheat reaping machine on state agri-machinery subsidies.