Official calls for steps to protect farmland (3)

Besides preserving the grain growing area, Ma added that the country also needs to improve its per hectare yields, which are only around half of the level of the United States for corn and soybeans.

"Chinese farmers need agricultural investment with more sophisticated technologies, especially seeds," Ma added.

Chinese farmers have achieved bumper grain harvests every year since 2003, with output jumping to a record 571 million tons in 2011, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier.

The Ministry of Agriculture said the country is heading toward a still bumper harvest this year.

Chen Jia contributed to this story.

zhousiyu@chinadaily.com.cn

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