China vows exceptional, all-out efforts to secure summer grain harvest

Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2021 shows a farmer harvesting rice in Yongji County of Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Nan)

BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China would make exceptional and all-out efforts to secure a summer grain harvest as the sector faces "unprecedented challenges and difficulties" caused by autumn floods during the sowing period last year, China's agricultural ministry said Wednesday.

The sowing of 110 million mu (7.33 million hectares) of wheat, which accounted for one-third of the country's wheat plantation area, in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi had been postponed due to rare autumn floods last year, said Tang Renjian, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

"Though we have kept the planting acreage of winter wheat basically as much as last year, the growth of seedlings are encountering complex situations caused by the aforementioned factors, posing unprecedented challenges and difficulties in securing a bumper summer harvest," Tang said.

Noting that summer grains take up around one-fifth of the country's total grain output and forty percent of the country's staple grains, Tang said securing the summer grain harvest is crucial to guaranteeing supply, stabilizing expectations and boosting confidence.

China will strengthen the management of wheat fields, ensure their protection from natural disasters and be well-prepared for spring sowing, Tang said.

The country will stabilize its annual grain output at over 650 billion kg and strive to beat a target of 700 billion kg by 2025 to ensure grain security, according to a five-year plan on farming previously released by the ministry.