April 20, 2004

China Announce Subsidies For Corn, Soy Farmers
 

China's Ministry of Agriculture announced on Monday the introduction of a subsidy program for farmers planting high-quality soybeans, wheat, corn and rice.

According to the ministry, farmers growing high-quality soybeans, wheat and corn would get 150 yuan of subsidy per hectare, while those planting rice would be subsidized 150 to 225 yuan per hectare.

The subsidy program this year covers a total of 13 provinces and autonomous regions, which include Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan provinces, and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the ministry noted.

The subsidy program covers 670,000 hectares of high-quality wheat farmland, 670,000 million hectares of high-quality soybean land and 670,000 million hectares of corn fields for special-use.

China's weakening grain production capability in recent years prompted the government to kick off a seven-year project to promote high-quality grain output nationwide in 2004.