Adviser calls for increased subsidies to aid rural areas

Insurance pledges

According to the Government Work Report, the central authorities will ensure the provision of agricultural supplies, such as chemical fertilizers, at stable prices. They will also continue to provide agricultural supply subsidies to grain growers and step up support for major grain-producing areas.

Forty billion yuan of the central government's reserve funds budgeted for last year－accounting for 80 percent of the total－was mainly used for reconstruction work after major flooding and one-time subsidies for grain producers, according to a report on China's central and local budgets.

This year, the government will allocate 41.64 billion yuan in subsidies for agricultural insurance, a rise of 30.8 percent year-on-year, to ensure that both full-cost and income insurance for the three main grain crops－rice, wheat and corn－cover all major grain-producing counties.