(Yicai) Dec. 18 -- China has issued the first part of its planned CNY1 trillion (USD140 billion) of special government bonds in the fourth quarter and more than half of that should advance agricultural development.

Within the CNY237.9 billion (USD33.4 billion) first batch, CNY125.4 billion will be spent on farmland subsidies in disaster-stricken areas in northeastern China, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei while the rest will be allocated to other post-disaster reconstruction and disaster prevention projects, Yicai learned.

From July to August, North China was hit by continuous rains and floods, affecting farms in northeastern parts of the country, as well as those in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Northeast China is one of the country's main grain-producing areas, contributing more than one-fifth of the total output every year.

The central government announced in October that it would issue an additional CNY1 trillion of special treasury bonds this quarter to support post-disaster reconstruction and to improve disaster prevention and relief capabilities. The funds will be delivered to local governments via transfer payments that will not have to be repaid.

The plan is to issue up half of the CNY1 trillion of bonds this year and the rest next year, which means that the remaining quota for this month is CNY262.1 billion.

The latest batch of funds will be used to support almost 1,400 counties to prepare or revamp high-standard farmland, some of it damaged by the disaster, totaling 36,000 square kilometers, per Wei Gaoming, deputy director of the finance ministry's department of agriculture and rural affairs.

The National Development and Reform Commission said earlier that due to hardships in fundraising, the additional issuance of treasury bonds should significantly increase the farmland subsidy standard to CNY2,400 from CNY1,500 (USD340 from USD210) per mu (667 square meters), and the contribution will be borne by provincial governments.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine