Despite the challenges of extreme weather, China's agricultural and rural economy achieved an overall stable performance in the first half of 2023, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Friday at a press conference.

Grain output in the summer season reached the second highest in history, despite being 0.9 percent lower year on year at about 146 million tonnes, said Zeng Yande, the ministry's head of the development and planning department.

The country's agricultural industry saw more efforts made in terms of an increase in technology-based modern tools and an overall deepening of green transformation in the first half of the year.

China built about 2.44 million hectares of high-standard farmland, suitable for modern agricultural production and management, in the same period, Zeng said.

Meanwhile, about 560,000 hectares of water-saving irrigation areas have been built, accounting for 83.8 percent of China's annual target.

Notably, the total import and export of agricultural products in the first six months reached $171.76 billion, up 6.4 percent year on year, he added.

Modern agricultural development has helped increase the incomes of farmers and improved their living environment.

The per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 10,551 yuan ($1,469) in the first half of the year, up 7.2 percent in real terms, which was 2.5 percentage points higher than that of urban residents, Zeng said.

The ministry said it will further enhance government investment and innovate financial services to boost the sector, noting that investment in fixed assets in the primary industry was 515.2 billion yuan in the first six months, up only 0.1 percent year on year.

(Cover via CFP)