January 9, 2006

North-east China might produce 125 million tonnes grain by 2030

China's major granary in the northeast has the potential to produce 125 million tonnes of grain by 2030,which is enough to feed half of the newly added population in the coming 25 years, an agricultural expert said in Beijing Friday.

The three provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin constitute the north-east region of China and is the biggest grain production base of the country.

More high-yield crops, such as soybean, corn and rice, should be planted to support the people's growing demand for meat, eggs, dairy products and fish, said Song Fengbin, a research fellow of the Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A huge potential of northeast China lies in its large amount of exploitable farmland and more could be reclaimed. At least 586,700 hectares of farmland could be added in the next 25 years, which may help increase grain production by 2.64 million tonnes in 2030, Song said.

To hit the goal, efforts should be intensified to build two major irrigation projects to increase local water supply for agricultural development, he said.

The researcher also underscored the transformation of middle- and low-yield farmland, which account for over 60 percent in all the three provinces, into high-yield cropland.

While calling for more favorable policies to boost grain production, Song said the potential to export grain export to the neighbouring markets in Russia, Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula and Japan should not be underestimated.