The average cash income of  farmers increased 11.4 percent in the first three quarters to 2,762 yuan (US$350) per year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Wednesday.

Accounting for inflation, this growth rate actually represents a six percent increase for the whole year, according to a report on the NDRC website.

The growth of farmers' incomes was likely to surpass that of last year, principally due to new government policies designed to support agricultural development.

These include the cancellation of agriculture taxes, increased government subsidies to farmers and improved working conditions for migrant workers.

The report says incomes from farming would rise as a result of higher production across the board, especially for cereals, cotton and poultry.

It predicts that farmers' incomes drawn from non-farming work would also increase remarkably as a result of rising wage levels. In the first nine months, 95.79 million farmers left their homes to work in towns, a rise of 3.8 percent from the same period last year.

Higher government subsidies also boosted incomes, the report indicates. Central government spending on agriculture will top 339.7 billion yuan in 2006, an increase of 42.2 billion yuan year-on-year.

Farmers are expected to receive 31 billion yuan in subsidies for grain production, improved breeds, farming machine procurement, fertilizer and diesel, double the 2005 level, the report says.

(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2006)