The State Council has released China's first ever State mid-to-long term food security outline. The document highlights the strategy to ensure food security in the 12 years from 2008 to 2020. It stresses the country needs to produce at least 95 percent of the grain products that its people needs.
Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission Zhang Xiaoqiang says the food security problem for more than 1.3 billion Chinese people has been the consistent top priority for the government. In recent years, a new round of food crises has been ravaging some underdeveloped countries.
Zhang stresses China must rely on itself to guarantee adequate food supplies. He says China has adopted strict polices to protect its limited farm land. And how to increase the farm produce yields has been a constant pursuit. With regard to international agricultural cooperation, Zhang says China hopes to establish a stable and reliable import guarantee system. The system will cover grain products, cooking oil and other processed products. He stresses China has no plan to seek farmland overseas.
Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice minister of National Development and Reform Commission, said, "The most important goal in the outline is that China needs to provide at least 95 percent of the grain products it needs. By 2020, the total area of China's farm land should be sustained at no less than 1.8 billion Chinese mu, or 120 million acres. The annual grain output should exceed 540 billion kilograms. China imports half of the soybeans it needs. For international procurement and logistics of soybeans and other products, China hopes to have a stable and reliable system. These are our major concerns."
(CCTV November 14, 2008)
