China moves to raise farmers' income

BEIJING - China will intensify policy support in the next five years to narrow the urban-rural income gap and double farmers' 2010 average per capita income by 2020, according to the State Council.

China will increase investment in agricultural infrastructure construction and strengthen financial services in rural areas, according to a State Council document on advancing policies to raise farmers' income.

The country will unveil more policies to support rural residents to explore entrepreneurship and innovation, and provide more training services to farmers on their agricultural skills, the document said.

China will encourage social capital to invest in rural areas to broaden channels for farmers to increase income and will continue to deepen the reform on rural collective property rights systems to inject vitality in rural areas, according to the document

The social safety net in rural areas will be improved, helping farmers shake off poverty and live well-off lives in rural areas.

China spent 20.36 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) in 2015 developing modern agriculture, underscoring the country's efforts in deepening rural reform.

There have been substantial improvements to rural development over the past few decades with yields of summer grain reaching a record high in 2015 after increasing for 11 straight years.