Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said on Saturday farmers should share equal job opportunities with urban residents, which was key to realize the government goal of doubling farmer's income by 2020.

Farmers were encouraged to start their own business and local government should work out more favourable policies including preferential taxation and easier market access to help farmers find jobs and business opportunities, Hui said at a prize award ceremony of the elite rural entrepreneurs.

The reform and innovation of the rural banking system should be pushed forward so as to resolve the rural residents' problem of cash shortage in starting their own business, Hui said.

China vowed to double rural residents' income from the current level by the end of 2012 as a part of the plan aimed to revitalize the country's rural area and agriculture, which was proved on the Third Plenary Session of the 17th Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Hui said vocational training for rural people should be enhanced to allow more migrant workers to go back to their hometown to run business.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2008)