The Tibetan government will spend US$120 million (820 million yuan) on livestock production and agriculture in 2009, an increase of 156% compared to last year's 320 million yuan, Beijing’s state-owned Xinhua news agency reported April 11.
Farms producing local livestock such as chickens, pigs and yaks will receive government subsidies, the agency reported, as will those growing indigenous herbs and medicinal plants. Between 2004 and 2008, the Tibetan government spent 1 billion yuan on 173 agriculture projects.
The average income of local farmers has risen in line with official support, increasing by more than 600 yuan annually, the agency reported.
The number of livestock in Tibet increased from about 10 million heads in 1959 to 24 million heads in 2008, an increase of 140%, according to a 2009 report from Xinhua.
