Rural per capita cash income nationwide grew 9.8% in real terms in the first half of the year
Summer grain enjoys an “11th consecutive bumper harvest,” and the agricultural and rural situation is improving. Driven by crop farming, work away from home and agricultural product processing, farmers' income is no longer limited to the fields, achieving sustained growth, and rural residents' income sings the “song of four seasons.” Since the beginning of this year, farmers' income has maintained a sustained and relatively rapid growth momentum. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that in the first half of the year, the nationwide per capita cash income of rural residents was 5396 yuan, a nominal increase of 12.0% year on year, and a real increase of 9.8% after deducting price factors.
Average monthly income from work grew 10.3%
In the first half of the year, compared with the 7.1% real growth in the nationwide per capita disposable income of urban residents, the growth rate of farmers' income was stronger than that of urban residents' income, higher by 2.7 percentage points.
“The growth rate of farmers' per capita income has exceeded the growth rate of urban residents' income for 3 consecutive years.” said Peng Wensheng, chief economist of China International Capital Corporation. At the current momentum, the growth rate of farmers' income for the whole year is expected to continue to exceed that of urban residents. The emergence of this trend is caused by the structural internal requirements of gradually smoothing the long-standing urban-rural income gap, and is also the inevitable result of the implementation of the policy of industry nurturing agriculture and cities supporting rural areas, which helps narrow the urban-rural gap and promote common prosperity.
Why does the “scenery” of farmers' income growth continue to improve? While income from crop farming grew, farmers' income from work showed a rapid growth trend. The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that at the end of June, the number of rural laborers working away from home was 174.18 million, an increase of 3.07 million year on year, or 1.8%. The average monthly income of laborers working away from home was 2733 yuan, an increase of 10.3%.
Household business income already accounts for half of farmers' income
The rapid development of the agricultural product processing industry has provided an increasingly broad platform for the sustained growth of farmers' income. Data show that in the first half of the year, agricultural product processing industries above designated size still achieved main business revenue of 8.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.5%, 1.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate of nationwide industry above designated size. “Household business income already accounts for half of farmers' income. The state has vigorously developed rural secondary and tertiary industries and promoted deep processing of agricultural products, which has created unprecedented conditions for increasing rural household business income.” believed Zeng Yesong, a rural issues expert at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Since the beginning of this year, the state has actively implemented the subsidy policy for primary processing of agricultural products, with subsidy funds increasing by 20% and reaching a scale of 600 million yuan; promoted the inclusion of agricultural product processing machinery in the scope of agricultural machinery purchase subsidies. At the same time, research was carried out on 7 major strategic issues, including comprehensive utilization of agricultural product processing, subsidy policies and staple food processing.
In addition, leisure agriculture has also become a new channel for increasing farmers' income. China has recommended to the public 10 most beautiful villages in China and 108 beautiful pastoral areas in China, and carried out activities to establish nationwide demonstration counties and demonstration sites for leisure agriculture and rural tourism. According to incomplete statistics, in the first half of the year, leisure agriculture nationwide received nearly 500 million tourist visits, with operating revenue of nearly 150 billion yuan, a growth rate of more than 10%, benefiting 30 million farmers.