Beijing | Reuters — China, the world’s top buyer of soy and corn, will push for higher grain yields across large areas of farmland as it seeks to ensure food security for its huge population, state media reported on Wednesday, citing an annual rural policy meeting.
China reported a record corn crop this year and bumper harvests of other grains, but Beijing continues to be concerned with food security, particularly amid rising tensions with trade partners, climate-related disasters and military conflicts.
Record corn production of 289 million metric tons this year was achieved largely thanks to a 2.7 per cent increase in planted acreage, as authorities reclaimed land used for other crops for staple grains.
Read Also
Alberta crop conditions improve: report
Varied precipitation and warm temperatures were generally beneficial for crop development across Alberta during the week ended July 8, according to the latest provincial crop report released July 11.
Speaking at an annual meeting that sets rural policy priorities for the year ahead, policymakers said China will “stabilize” grain sowing area and “promote large-scale increases in grain yields,” the official Xinhua news agency reported late on Wednesday.
It did not outline specific measures to boost yields, but Chinese corn breeders are preparing to plant more than double the amount of genetically modified corn next year than in 2023, as Beijing slowly introduces a technology that typically lifts yields.
Policymakers also said China should “consolidate the results of soybean expansion”, according to state media. China has boosted its domestic soybean production significantly in the last two years by promoting more planting to reduce its reliance on overseas imports.
The policy, however, has resulted in excess production of non-genetically modified soybeans for food use, forcing Beijing to buy up some of the supplies for state reserves.
Policymakers said China should strengthen the protection of arable land, accelerate the revitalization of the seed industry and prioritize building “high-standard” farmland in its bread basket area of the Northeast, famous for its fertile black soil, according to state media.
–Reporting for Reuters by Mei Mei Chu, Chen Aizhu and the Beijing newsroom.
