China's central treasury allocated 297.5 billion yuan (US$37.2
billion) to facilitate farming and rural development and raise
farmers' income last year, up 13.3 percent from 2004, said Finance
Minister Jin Renqing on Tuesday.
Of the investment, 66.2 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion) was
transfer payment to support the rural taxation reform, cutting 22
billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) in agricultural tax.
The central and local budgets paid 13.2 billion yuan (US$1.7
billion) in subsidies to 642 million farmers cultivating grain in
30 provinces and autonomous regions across the country, said Jin
when reporting to the Standing Committee of the National People's
Congress (NPC).
Some 98.9 billion yuan (US$12.3 billion) from the state coffers
was used to improve rural infrastructure and another 2.7 billion
yuan (US$33.8 million) on free textbooks to 34 million poor rural
students in underdeveloped central and western regions.
Another 6.9 billion yuan (US$86.3 million) went to compulsory
education, dilapidated rural schools, education in rural primary
and secondary schools and rural labor force training.
Thirteen billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) was put into poverty
reduction.
(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2006)