(Photo/Xinhua)

Food is the paramount necessity of the people. It is not only a national issue, but also a vital topic for the whole world. China has made great contributions to world peace and stability through attaching high importance to food supply.

China is a country with a large population and a huge agricultural industry. In recent years, the total area sown to grain in China has remained stable at over 1.7 billion mu, about 113 million hectares; the yield per unit area has been increasing, and the grain output has remained above 600 billion kilograms.

At present, China's self-sufficiency rate in grain exceeds 95 percent and its self-sufficiency rate in grain ration reaches 100 percent, and its grain supply per capita reaches 480 kilograms, 37 percent higher than the world average.

In China, 132,000 square kilometers of land have been turned into orchards and melon fields, producing 250 million tons of fruit last year alone, or 31.4 percent of the global production.

Per-capita fruit consumption has risen from 3 kilograms a year at the founding of the People's Republic of China to today's amount of 184 kilograms per person.

Along with the improvement of the dietary level, the physical development and nutrition of the Chinese people have both been significantly improved, and the people's well-being index has been continuously improved.

A survey shows that from 1975 to 2015, the height and weight of children in China continued to grow rapidly. In the most representative 5 to 5.5 age group, for example, boys and girls grew by 8.0cm and 8.2cm, respectively. Life expectancy in China has more than doubled from 35 in 1949 to 77 in 2015.

By 2020, China's grain demand is expected to reach 700 billion kilograms. The pressure to meet such a huge demand for food is imaginable.

During the reform and opening up, a series of guidelines and policies in line with rural conditions were introduced, and fundamental changes were made in the rural economy and grain production.

From 1978 to 1984, grain output increased from 300 billion kilograms to more than 400 billion kilograms, an average annual increase of 5.1 percent. Since 2004, grain production has increased for 12 consecutive years.

In the new era, China has not only provided sufficient food for more than a fifth of the world's population, but also contributed Chinese solutions to global food security and sustainable agricultural development.

The annual global trade in food is around 400 billion kilograms, accounting for only two-thirds of China's consumption. If China cannot secure its own food supply, it will squeeze the proportion for other countries.

Since the outbreak of the global food crisis in 2008, China has firmly maintained sufficient arable lands and food self-sufficiency rate, as well as a stable grain supply.

In 2014 and 2015, China's efforts in reducing hunger were recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Summit.

Yuan Longping, the 90-year-old "father of hybrid rice", spoke publicly about his dreams on introducing the rice to the whole world more than once.

China's hybrid rice has been studied and promoted in dozens of countries and regions since it first went abroad in 1979.

The overseas planting area of hybrid rice has reached more than 7 million hectares, and the yield of such rice increased 20 percnet more than that of local varieties. The FAO has identified hybrid rice as the preferred technology for developing countries to address food shortages.

In addition, China has made great contributions in alleviating global hunger. For instance, the country has set up agricultural technology demonstration centers in nearly 100 countries, sent tens of thousands of agricultural experts to teach advanced technologies in agricultural mechanization, food processing and other fields, and helped these countries train many food technicians.