Farmers harvest green Chinese onions in Zhangqiu, a district of Jinan in East China's Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Rural earnings have been rising steadily over the past five years in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, and the wealth gap between rural and urban residents is narrowing, local authorities reported.

The city's rural per capita disposable income has increased by 8.1 percent annually over the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), 1.3 percentage points faster than the figure in urban areas. The Engel coefficient for rural residents fell by 2.2 percentage points over the past four years.

In addition, the comprehensive agricultural production capacity has increased steadily. In 2019, the added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery sectors reached 36.05 billion yuan ($5.58 billion), accounting for 6.6 percent of the province's total value.

Rural areas in the city have cultivated agro-products such as roses in Pingyin county, green onions in Zhangqiu district, strawberries in Licheng district and gingers in Laiwu district. The number of well-known agricultural brands above the provincial level reached 44. 

In 2019, the overall mechanization rate reached 87.9 percent, 2.5 percentage points higher than that the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15).

Modern agriculture saw rapid development. In 2019, the overall mechanization rate of farms reached 87.9 percent, 2.5 percentage points higher than that the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

Looking forward, Jinan has set the goal of becoming a leading area for modern agriculture in the Yellow River Basin and a pilot area for integrated urban-rural development.

More efforts will be made to promote the efficiency and quality of the agricultural sector, improve the earnings of farmers and enhance the working and living conditions of rural areas.