Wheat farmers in east China Shandong Province will receive 250 million yuan (30.2 million US dollars) subsidies this year, about 10 times the figure of last year, according to provincial agricultural department.

The subsidies will go to 83 counties and a state-run farm where farmers grow high-quality wheat, sources with the agricultural department said, adding that the wheat fields qualified for the subsidy also rose to 2 million hectares this year.

And they account for 61.2 percent of the total wheat fields in Shandong, a rise of 27.5 percent in the past five years, said Jiang Shibao, deputy director of the grain production division of the department.

Shandong is China's major wheat production base and its exemplary high-quality wheat fields are about 166,667 hectares, one quarter of the nation's total, Jiang said.

He said the agricultural department also recommended 16 wheat species for local wheat growers and taught them the latest technologies concerning most processes in wheat growing.

The Chinese government last year ceased collecting agricultural tax, amid other policies to support agricultural production. This year, both the central and local governments announced subsidy rise to boost farmers' enthusiasm on wheat growing.

Market observers said the subsidy could lift the financial burden for poor farmers who are under the pressure of price hike of seeds, pesticides, and major farming tools despite agricultural tax cut.

With the help of subsidy in Shandong, Jiang said about 333,333 hectares more farmland will be sown for high-quality wheat in this autumn and each hectare of cropland is expected to yield ten percent more grain this year.

Source: Xinhua