Ministry to spend more on agriculture

China's Ministry of Agriculture will spend a further 5.15 billion yuan (US$754 million) to improve rural infrastructure and farmers' living conditions, according to a statement posted on the ministry's Website yesterday.

The increased investment, following the government's 4-trillion-yuan fiscal stimulus package announced on Sunday to help the economy, will be mainly used for methane projects, grain production, prevention of animal epidemics and quality controls, the statement said. The ministry's spending is expected to spur investments of more than 10 billion yuan by local governments and farmers, according to the statement.