Wage income and net operating income contributed over 70% to the income growth. In the first quarter, the real per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 5.4% year-on-year, a growth rate 2.2 percentage points faster than that of urban residents. Wage income and net operating income contributed more than 70% to the income growth of rural residents. An official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated that since the beginning of this year, grain purchase prices have remained stable with an upward trend, and the employment situation for migrant workers and local job opportunities has generally been stable, contributing to steady growth in farmers' incomes.

The official outlined that the next steps will involve coordinating with relevant departments to focus on four key areas to promote stable income growth for farmers: boosting income through industrial development, stabilizing employment opportunities, deepening reforms, and effectively utilizing policy support. Industrial revitalization is seen as the source of enhancing endogenous development momentum in agriculture and rural areas, and it is also the foundation and key to comprehensive rural revitalization. In the first quarter, the added value of large-scale agricultural and sideline food processing industries increased by 6.8% year-on-year. The Purchasing Managers' Index for key national agricultural industrial enterprises was 58.1% in March, remaining above the 50% expansion threshold, with month-on-month and year-on-year increases of 6.8 and 3.8 percentage points respectively, indicating a continuous improvement in industry sentiment.

The Ministry will persist in balancing production output, capacity, ecological considerations, and income increases. It plans to promote the integrated development of technological agriculture, green agriculture, quality agriculture, and brand agriculture to ensure that agricultural products are marketable and command premium prices. Efforts will be made to fully leverage local specialty resources, accelerate the enhancement of characteristic rural industries, and continuously improve agricultural product processing, cultivate agricultural enterprises, and build agricultural brands. Support will be provided for rural entrepreneurship and the development of new industries and formats such as rural leisure tourism, cultural experiences, and rural e-commerce, transforming rural development momentum into tangible income growth for farmers. Regular activities like agricultural product supply-demand matching and consumption assistance will be conducted to facilitate smooth sales of agricultural products.

Regarding employment stabilization, the Ministry will work with relevant departments to promote models such as order-based, targeted, and post-specific training to enhance employment skills and foster distinctive labor service brands, aiming to boost migrant worker employment. The role of public welfare positions, employment assistance workshops, and labor-based relief programs will be fully utilized to increase local job opportunities. Additionally, localities are encouraged to steadily develop new types of rural collective economies and adopt methods like independent operation, leasing, or equity participation to revitalize collective assets and resources based on local conditions. Exploring effective ways to utilize idle rural housing through leasing, equity participation, or cooperation will be prioritized. Deepening the reform of rural collective property rights systems and standardizing the construction and operation of rural property rights trading markets will help farmers gain more property income.

In March of this year, the Ministry publicly released a list of central government financial policies aimed at strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers, and enriching rural households, which includes 16 subsidies such as those for farmland fertility protection, agricultural machinery purchase and application, and wheat disease prevention subsidies. The Ministry will collaborate with relevant departments to ensure the full implementation of these policies, translating policy benefits into real income gains for farmers.

Currently, the spring farming season is underway. An official from the Department of Crop Management mentioned that during the "Grain Rain" period, wheat and rapeseed have entered a critical phase for yield formation. Nationwide spring ploughing and sowing are fully展开, and spring agricultural production is progressing smoothly. According to the latest agricultural situation dispatch from the Ministry, the progress of spring grain sowing has exceeded 20%, slightly faster than the same period last year. Early rice planting has surpassed 80%, spring corn sowing has exceeded 10%, and spring soybean sowing is陆续展开.

With approximately 40 days left until the summer grain harvest, challenges such as pests and diseases, lodging, dry hot winds, and harvest-time rain still lie ahead, and the spring sowing peak is imminent. The Ministry will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments of the central authorities, focusing on disaster prevention to secure a bumper harvest. It will simultaneously manage spring field operations and spring ploughing and sowing, solidly preparing for disaster prevention and mitigation to lay a foundation for annual grain production. Building on the experience of the past three years, this year will continue the large-scale yield improvement action for grain and oil crops. The number of county-wide advancement units will increase from 702 to 1,000, and 20 city-wide advancement units will be initiated, continuously promoting the integrated benefits of high-quality farmland, superior seeds, advanced machinery, and effective techniques to achieve balanced and widespread yield increases.