"This model has played a key role in raising farmers' income and helping them tide over low prices of agricultural products. We should continue to apply it well as a matter of high priority," he said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs show that recent years have seen new forms of industry flourish in the rural areas driven by a boom of local e-commerce.

In 2017, the online retail sales in rural areas totaled 1.25 trillion yuan (about 191 billion U.S. dollars), among which the online sales of agricultural products approached 300 billion yuan. Over 28 million jobs were created as a result.

By the end of last year, a total of 7.4 million people had chosen to start businesses in rural areas by 2017, among which more than half used internet technology.

"Better tailored to the diverse consumer needs, most online agricultural goods can sell at higher prices than offline sales," Li said at the meeting.

"The Internet Plus Agriculture model will be critical for creating rural employment, increasing farmers' income and boosting rural development."

It was decided at the meeting to accelerate IT application in agricultural production. Big data, the Internet of Things and cloud computing will be harnessed for more efficient agricultural production management and for digitized, internet-based and smart agricultural production and operation, particularly in areas such as seed breeding, farmland management and pest control.

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