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China Makes Sure it has Enough Food
China will try to keep food supplies secure and at adequate levels in the coming five years, which is vital because of the country's huge population and also considered a precondition to raise farmers' income, said Chen Yaobang, Minister of Agriculture.
He said at the National Work Conference on Agriculture that China will face great challenges of keeping the grain output up, considering the growing population, shrinking cultivated land and water shortages.
Last year's grain output is estimated to drop by 9 percent from 1999, which was mainly attributed to a severe drought and the government's reduction of the grain-growing acreage in an attempt to restructure the agricultural sector, he noted.
The Chinese government will first focus on preventing the acreage of grain growing areas from shrinking. Meanwhile, scientists are encouraged to develop high-yielding grain strains.
The government will continue buying grain from farmers at a higher price, which has proved an effective way to urge farmers to produce more grain, Chen said.
Also, China plans to develop some major grain planting areas into long-term bases for food supply, he added.
The Chinese government has long paid great attention to its production of food and the country has achieved good grain harvests in the past five years, with each Chinese now having 400 kilograms of grain on average,
Chen pointed out that, with sufficient storage, grain supply met the demand last year though output has dropped.
China to Strengthen Arable Land Protection to Ensure Food Safety
China must properly deal with the relationship between protecting arable land and economic development and work to protect arable land to ensure national food safety in the future, said a land resources official in Beijing Saturday, December 23.
The major goal of China's arable land protection in the coming five years is to guarantee the land use for economic and social development, and to maintain a total arable land area of no less than 1.92 billion mu (one hectare equals to 15 mu), said Tian Fengshan, Minister of Land and Resources at a conference of the ministry.
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