BEIJING - The Chinese government fiscal spending on agriculture and rural development will exceed 1 trillion yuan ($158.5 billion) in 2011, a top economic planner said Wednesday.

Zhang Ping, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said so while reporting transformation of the economic growth mode to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

Zhang said it would be the first time to exceed 1 trillion yuan, following the government's sharp increase of budgetary spending in the last two years on projects related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers.

In a bid to strengthen the fundamental status that agriculture holds in the whole national economy, the government has made a series of favorable policies, such as expanding the range of grain subsidies, raising the minimum purchase prices of important crops, and upgrading irrigation facilities, Zhang said.

The government has also spent much on the compulsory education system in rural areas, as well as a new rural cooperative healthcare system and a social security system.

China saw a bumper grain harvest this year, with the output rising to a record high of 571.21 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.5 percent. China has reported robust grain harvest growth for eight consecutive years.

The favorable policies have also improved the livelihood of farmers, as the growth rate of rural residents' cash incomes reached 13.6 percent after adjusting for inflation, outpacing that of urban residents, which stands at 5.8 percent, Zhang said.

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