Most of the houses in the Dongling village in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, have solar photovoltaic panels on their roofs to generate electricity. Photo: cnsphoto

China's agricultural sector maintained a sound development momentum in the first three quarters of 2022, with the value-added output of the primary industry increasing 4.2 percent year-on-year to 5.48 trillion yuan ($755 billion), laying a solid foundation for the improvement of people's well-being and the steady economic development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Saturday.

The agricultural production showed good growth momentum, and a bumper harvest is expected this year. The total output of summer grain and early rice amounted to 351 billion jin (175.5 million tons), and nearly 90 percent of autumn grain has been harvested, according to a press release on the ministry's website.

In the first three quarters, China's GDP increased 3 percent year on year, 0.5 percentage points faster than that in the first half of 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In the first three quarters, the output of pork, beef, mutton and poultry posted stable increase, with a sufficient supply of vegetables, said the ministry. The output of pork increased 5.9 percent year-on-year to 41.5 million tons. At the end of September, the number of pigs registered was 443.94 million, up 1.4 percent year-on-year, it said.

In the first nine months of this year, China continued to promote modern agriculture and earnestly carry out seed industry vitalization. The ministry has chosen 270 seed enterprises across the country to accelerate core technological breakthroughs. The country has established high-standard farm land of 71.66 million mu (4.78 million hectares), accounting for 71.7 percent of this year's goal, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the authorities continue to deepen rural reform and improve the living environment, with access to sanitary toilets in rural areas surpassing 70 percent. Moreover, the number of new types of business entities in rural areas continue to rise, and the total number of cooperatives and family farms has exceeded 6.1 million.

It's worth noting that consumption and investment in rural areas reported stable growth during the period. The retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas grew 0.9 percent year-on-year to 4.26 trillion yuan, said the ministry.

It said that the agency will ensure the sowing and harvest of autumn grain, earnestly ensure steady supply of meat and vegetables, and continue to cement the fruitful results of poverty alleviation so as to strive to complete all tasks set for this year.

Global Times