China Reaffirms Goal to Bolster Food Security as Imports Swell
- New minister pledges to improve crop yields, protect farmland
- Nation will expand corn acreage, stabilize soy areas in 2021
China will maintain the area for double-season rice production in the south while trying to increase yields.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
China vowed to expand domestic crop production and strengthened its plan to ensuring grain and food security after imports surged to unprecedented levels.
New agriculture minister Tang Renjian pledged to improve crop yields of locally-grown rice, wheat, soybeans and corn while protecting against farmland loss, according to a report on the ministry’s website. He said maintaining stable food production will be a priority under the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan, which will set out key economic and political goals for 2021 to 2025.