(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- Animal fodder manufacturer Dabeinong Technology Group is the latest Chinese firm to offer one-off payments to both male and female employees to encourage them to have more children as part of the country's efforts to boost dwindling birthrates.

Company staff will be awarded CNY30,000 (USD4,707) for the birth of their first child, CNY60,000 for the second child and CNY90,000 (USD14,121) for the third child, the Beijing-based firm said. The policy came into effect on Jan. 1.

Dabeinong, which employs around 20,000 people, is also offering generous maternity leave. New mothers can have an additional month off on top of the statutory 90 days leave for their first child, three months for their second child and a whole year for their third child, Dabeinong said. New fathers are entitled to nine days’ paternity leave.

The move helps to encourage childbirth and improves the welfare of employees, said Zhang Guoping, deputy secretary of Dabeinong’s Party Committee.

China relaxed its two-child policy in July to allow couples to have three children as the country faces a severe challenge from an aging population. However, it is the high parenting costs and skyrocketing house prices that are mainly behind the low fertility rate, according to a survey by Soochow Securities earlier this month. As a result, local governments and even private firms are looking at ways to support families.

Short video giant Kuaishou rolled out childbirth incentives of between CNY1,000 (USD157) and CNY3,000 in December last year.

Two such large enterprises introducing measures to boost fertility rates is an act of corporate social responsibility and should be encouraged, Dong Yuzheng, director of the Guangdong Academy of Population Development, told Yicai Global. More firms are likely to follow suit, he added.

However, small and medium-sized companies are the mainstay of employment, not the big ones, and most of these firms do not have sufficient funds to issue maternity incentives, Dong said. Therefore, it is still crucial to establish a childbirth cost-sharing mechanism and strengthen public services and guarantees, he added.

Dabeinong’s share price [SHE:002385] closed down 3.67 percent at CNY9.71 (USD1.50) today.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor