Developing modern agriculture is the Chinese government's top priority in building a new socialist countryside, according to a central government document released in Beijing on Monday.

The document, jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, is the first set of major policies to be released this year and focuses on rural development for the fourth consecutive year.

Developing modern agriculture has proven to be the basic channel through which farmers' incomes can be increased, said the document.

Last year, the per-capita income of Chinese farmers stood at 3,587 yuan (460 U.S. dollars), less than one third of the level of urban residents.

To bridge the wealth gap, the central government said it would pump more money into rural areas. Most of the fixed-assets investment and money earmarked for education, public health and culture this year should go to rural areas, the document said.

Local governments should also channel more money it earns from selling land use rights to the countryside, it said.

The document advocated the establishment of a mechanism to secure stable sources of capital from both government and financial institutions.

Both the central and local governments should allocate special funds to support the processing of farm produce, which is higher value-added than land-intensive farming, it noted.

The livestock breeding industry has a direct bearing on the lives of the general public ... Governments at various levels must strengthen its control over fodder quality, it said, urging more money to be spent on subsidizing the breeding of fine dairy cattle and the prevention and control of animal epidemics.

The central government will also make greater efforts to equip the agriculture industry with modern technology this year.

China will continue to focus on improving the quality of farming and raise the utilization rate of the land and other natural resources in rural areas, it said.

The country will also stick to the principle of self-reliance in food provision and gradually build a stable, well-controlled and highly-efficient food safety guarantee system.

In 2006, China produced more than 490 billion kilograms of grain, only one percent increase on the 2005 figure, but nevertheless an increase in output for the third straight year.

The Study Times, a newspaper affiliated to the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, predicted that China could face the possibility of a 4.8 million ton grain shortage in 2010, almost nine percent of the country's grain consumption.

To prevent a shortfall in grain crops, the government said it would strive to stabilize the total area of arable land, raise the output per unit and improve farm produce quality.

The government also said it would tightly monitor the production, consumption, inventory, imports and exports of farm produce to secure market stability.

Last November, China's grain prices went up 4.7 percent on average, and are expected to rise 6 percent this year.

One of the top targets for this year is to establish an efficient market surveillance system to be alert to risks of grain shortfall, said the document.

据周一在北京发布的中央政府文件称，发展现代农业是中国政府建设社会主义新农村的当务之急。由中国共产党中央委员会和国务院联合下发的该文件是今年发布的第一套重要政策性文件，重点是部署农村第四个持续发展年的发展。该文件说，“已经证明，发展现代农业是增加农民收入的基本途径。”去年，中国农民平均每人收入为3587元（折合460美元），不到城市居民平均收入的三分之一。为了缩小贫富差距，中央政府决定将抽调更多的资金到农村。文件说，今年，大部分固定资产投资和指定用于教育、公共卫生和文化的资金将拨到农村地区。地方政府也应将变卖土地所有权所得的资金投到农村。文件提倡建立一个机制以确保政府和金融机构稳定的资金来源。文件强调，中央和地方政府应分配特殊基金来支持农产品加工，因农产品加工比土地密集型的农业具有更高的附加值。文件说，“家畜养殖业与大众的生活直接相关......各级政府必须加强饲料质量的控制。鼓励将更多的资金用于优良乳牛饲养补贴，防止并控制动物瘟疫”。今年，中央政府还将尽更大的努力用现代化技术来武装农业。文件说，“中国将继续集中改进农村地区的农业质量，提高土地和其他资源的利用率”。在食品供应方面，中国将继续坚持自力更生的原则，并逐步建立一个稳定的、控制良好的、高效的食品安全保障体系。2006年，中国生产粮食4900多亿公斤，与2005年的数字相比，虽只增加了一个百分点，但在产量上已是连续三年的增长。隶属中央党校报刊的《学习时报》预言，2010年，中国可能面临480万吨的粮食短缺，几乎占整个国家粮食消费的百分之九。为了防止粮食农作物的亏空，政府说将努力使可耕地的总面积保持稳定，提高单位产量，改进农产品质量。政府还说，政府将密切监督农产品的生产、消费及进出口情况以确保市场稳定。去年１1月，中国的粮食价格平均上升了4.7个百分点，预计今年将提高6个百分点。文件称，今年的最大目标之一是“建立一个有效的市场监督体系以警惕粮食亏空的危险。