Agricultural industry makes progress

China's agricultural industry has made great progress expanding production to feed the world's most populous nation, and also in its pulling of millions of rural residents out of poverty, according to a report just released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's grain production in 2011 reached 571 million tons, an increase of 114 million tons from 2002, an annual increase rate of 2.5 percent over the last decade, according to the bureau. From 2004 onwards, the country has managed to achieve increased grain output for eight consecutive years.

Rice yields in 2011 stood at 201 million tons, a 15.2 percent increase from 2002. Wheat production reached 117 billion tons, up 30 percent from 2002, while corn obtained a yield of 192 million tons, a 58.9 percent increase from a decade ago, official data showed.

In the meantime, average rural incomes surged by 1.8 times compared with 2002 to 6,977 yuan ($1,090) in 2011, an annual increase of 8.1 percent during the past decade, according to the bureau. In 2010 and 2011, the income growth rate in rural areas surpassed urban areas, the bureau said.

During the past decade, the government has issued a raft of policies to enhance the development of the agricultural sector, which has established a sound policy framework for the industry and helped improve the livelihood of rural residents, the report said.