August 4, 2006

China to boost grain output capacity by 2010

China needs to increase its grain output capacity to 500 million tonnes in order to meet the country's needs by 2010, the Ministry of Agriculture said Thursday (Aug 3) in a statement on its website.

To achieve this goal, China should have at least 103.33 million hectares of grain acreage by that year, the statement said.

Although the amount of land dedicated to grain production is expected to continue shrinking in the years ahead, it would still have to produce the minimum of 500 million tonnes, China Daily reported Friday.

The ministry's statement came as it unveiled the National Agricultural and Rural Economic Development Program for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), said the report.

To achieve the 500 million-tonne target, at least 103.33 million hectares must be reserved for that purpoase, Yang Jian, director of the ministry's development planning department and one of the programme's chief designers, said.

Although the target should be within reach, Yang warned that urbanisation and efforts to set land aside for forest and grassland reserves would mean the amount of arable land would irreversibly shrink in the coming years. 

China produced 484 million tonnes of grains with 104.28 million hectares of  acreage in 2005, according to the ministry.

In its development programme, the ministry reiterated the nation's policy of relying on domestic efforts to guarantee food security, stressing there must be steady growth in the production of grain and other major farm produce, the report said.

Among other agricultural products, the ministry said it expected production of meat at 84 million tonnes, and that of eggs, milk and aquatic products the equivalent of 30 million tonnes, 42 million tonnes and 60 million tonnes.