Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu urged local governments and authorities to increase agricultural investment and to strengthen quality control of farm products.

He made the remarks on Thursday at the sixth China Agricultural Trade Fair, which takes place October 15 to October 19.

Despite severe natural disasters and changes in overseas and domestic markets, China's agriculture and rural economy maintained good momentum this year, said Hui.

Grain production increased for the fifth year and the average disposable income for farmers grew. Hui said this lays a solid foundation for the stable development of the national economy.

He urged local authorities to step up investment in agriculture and push for the development of more agriculture-related technology.

He also emphasized the importance of quality control of farm products and vowed to remove unsafe products from the market.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2008)