February 5, 2007

China to maintain grain acreage, boost grain production

China plans to maintain the area it uses for growing grain at not less than 105 million hectares and is looking at ways to increase grain production from the allotted area.

The plans are outlined in the new agricultural guideline recently released by the central government.

The document also emphasized the need to introduce new varieties of grain, improved crop quality and more efforts in irrigation, grain yields and grain processing.

China's grain output grew 1.2 percent in 2006, reaching 490 million tonnes last year.