Abstract: Based on the provincial panel data from 1999 to 2008, this paper conducts an empirical analysis of the relationship between the whole country and the three regions of the East, Centre and West and the opening of China’s rural economy, improving of the efficiency of agricultural production and increasing of farmer’s income. The study indicates that the opening of rural economy and improving of agricultural production efficiency have positive effect on the increasing of the farmer’s income; however, it presents significant regional difference. From the point of the whole country, both the opening of rural economy and improving of agricultural production efficiency have significantly increased the farmer’s income. The opening of rural economy in the eastern, central, western regions has significant positive effect on the increasing of the farmer’s income. Only in the western region the improving of agricultural production efficiency has the significant positive effect on the increasing of the farmer’s income. At the same time, it is also only in the eastern region that the opening of rural economy has significantly improved the efficiency of agricultural production. The farmer’s income can also be increased significantly by increasing the financial support to agriculture, increasing the investment of fixed capital in farmers’ family production and enlarging the transfer of the rural surplus labor.

Key words: opening of rural economy; improving the efficiency of agricultural production; increasing the farmers’ income