The per capita disposable income of farmers in Shanghai increased by 10 percent in the first three quarters of this year, thanks largely to accruement in housing rents, proceedings from land transfers and various forms of social welfare.

Farmers' income in Shanghai, the economic hub of the country, went up 10.3 percent year-on-year to 6,998 yuan (US$863) in the January-September period, according to the municipal rural work commission.

The growth rate was 0.7 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level, the source said, adding that Shanghai continued to rank first among China's provincial regions in terms of farmers' income over the past 10 years or so, the source added.

Officials with the commission owed the fast growth in farmers' income to the fact that more farmers began to work in enterprises which offer the farmers higher pay, in addition to the rise in housing rents and proceedings from land transfers.

The income growth was also attributed to increasing social welfare, including pension and funds for education and poverty relief as well as that for the handicapped and the low-income earners.

Suburbs, covering more than 90 percent of Shanghai's total land area, have become a major propeller of the local economy, the commission said.

The rural areas realized 200 billion yuan (US$24.6 billion) in value-added output in the first three quarters, up 19.4 percent from the same period of last year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)