China will keep a steady development of agriculture and a continuous increase in rural incomes, said Premier Wen Jiabao while speaking at the opening of the parliament's annual session Friday.

The central government plans to allocate 818.3 billion yuan (US$119.8 billion) for agriculture, farmers, and rural areas this year, an increase of 93 billion yuan over the 2009 level, he said in a government work report delivered to the National People's Congress.

Of the total funding, up to 133.5 billion yuan will be spent to subsidize agricultural production, a year-on-year increase of 6.04 billion yuan.

"We must give top priority in all our work to solving the problems faced by agriculture, rural areas, and farmers," said Wen.

The government will also offer a rise of 0.06 to 0.2 yuan in the minimum price of rice per kilogram and a 0.06 yuan rise for wheat to encourage grain production and increase rural incomes, according to the report.

Rural per capita net income stood at 5,153 yuan in 2009, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with the urban per capita annual disposable income of 17,175 yuan.

China will further promote urbanization by strengthening county economies and guiding an orderly flow of rural population to small towns, said Wen. Returned rural migrant workers will be encouraged to start businesses in their hometowns.

"We will allow eligible workers who have left agricultural work to gradually become urban residents, and at the same time develop a beautiful rural environment where farmers can live a happy life," he said.

The government will also focus on rural infrastructures and projects to improve people's well-being, as well as deepening rural reforms concerning the transfer of contracted land-use rights, rural financial services and other supporting policies, Wen said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2010)