BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) -- China is working to increase the planting area of early rice, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday.

This year, the government has been supporting early rice production through raising the minimum purchase prices, the ministry said in a statement after a teleconference.

Meanwhile, 3.67 billion yuan (about 527.3 million U.S. dollars) has been set aside for agricultural projects, and local governments have mapped supporting policies to promote an increase in the early rice planting area, it said.

Now, early rice planting is at a critical stage in southern China and the Yangtze River Basin as seedlings are being raised, and local governments should make efforts to increase early rice acreage, it said.

In 2019, China's early rice planting area dropped 7.1 percent to 4.45 million hectares, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's total grain output consists of three parts -- early rice, summer grain and autumn production. Autumn grain crops, which include corn and mid- and late-season rice, account for the bulk of the total. Enditem

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