This year’s government work report puts forward a new expected target for grain output – about 1.4 trillion jin. This is a significant improvement from last year’s “more than 1.3 trillion jin”. Why do we need to increase production on the basis of year-on-year harvest? How to achieve new goals? Where is the room for improvement? What is the “big gift package” issued by the state?
Han Jun, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: The string of food security must always be tight. The goal of about 1.4 trillion jin can be achieved through hard work.
On the “Minister’s Channel” of the Two Sessions, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs conveyed his confidence and determination to produce grain this year.
About 1.4 trillion jin is the expected new target of grain production proposed in this year’s government work report.
Although my country’s grain production has been bumper years of harvest, there is actually a certain gap in grain production demand. In the future, more than 1.4 billion people will eat better and better, and grain demand will continue to grow rigidly. Supply and demand will remain tightly balanced for a considerable period of time, so production capacity must continue to be improved.
Last year, my country’s grain planting area reached 1.79 billion mu, while there is only so much arable land and water resources. The potential for continuing to expand the area is limited, and the focus of increasing production must shift to large-scale yields.
At present, the integrated promotion of many new varieties and new technologies is not enough, and some measures to increase production and efficiency are still stuck in laboratories and experimental fields. Compared with the experimental fields, the average yield per mu of corn is 460 kilograms lower, the wheat is 80 kilograms lower, and the rice is 260 kilograms lower. Last year, my country implemented the improvement of the entire production of corn and wheat, and this year it further expanded to rice. The integrated promotion of fertile fields, good seeds, good opportunities and good methods has enabled large-scale production to speed up the test fields to catch up with the experimental fields.
Stabilizing grain production cannot allow grain-growing farmers and major grain-producing areas to suffer losses. This year’s government work report has launched a set of policy “combination punches” from promoting the maintenance of a reasonable price of important agricultural products such as grain to increasing support for major grain-producing counties. This year, we will also implement the inter-provincial horizontal interest compensation mechanism for grain production and sales areas under the central government’s coordination. By “benefiting” provinces to contribute and “contribute” provinces to obtain compensation, we will make more “real money” to increase support for major grain-producing areas and major grain-producing counties.
We look forward to the goal of about 1.4 trillion jin of grain output this year, through the improvement of systems and mechanisms, the improvement of equipment and facilities, and the promotion of integrated technology, the goal of grain production of about 1.4 trillion jin can be achieved as scheduled, adding weight to our response to risks and challenges and winning the initiative!
[Editor in charge: Ma Rui]
