February 3, 2012

China's 2011 grain yield soars after eight years

In 2011, China has made an unusual but possible record in food production as its grain crop reached 1.14 trillion catties (one catty = half a kilogramme), the eighth straight year of harvest amid rough weather.

China produced grains of 1.1424 trillion catties in 2011, an increase of 49.4 billion catties from 2010 thanked to the use of modern farming technology. Chinese farms now have a technology usage rate of 53.5%.

However, the effective irrigation rate of farm land is just slightly over 50%, meaning half of the farm land still relies on Mother Nature for water. In addition, the per capita farm land in China is just less than 0.1 hectare or just about 1.38 mu (1 mu = 1/6 acre) as natural resources are scarce.

In improving food safety, the government will continue to base its effort on giving better policies to farmers, strengthening rural infrastructure development, and developing better technology for the agricultural sector.