Why grain output achieved twelve consecutive increases, up 2.4% over the previous year

Food is the first necessity of the people. Without stable grain production capacity, there can be no food security in the true sense.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's grain output has happily achieved "twelve consecutive increases," with the total national grain output in 2015 reaching 1242.87 billion jin, an increase of 2.4% over the previous year. Grain output once again exceeded 1.1 trillion jin, marking that China's comprehensive grain production capacity has remained stable at the 1.1 trillion jin level for many consecutive years, laying a solid foundation for China's food security. Amid growing downward pressure on the economy, grain production once again achieved a bumper harvest, further stabilizing the sound economic fundamentals.

Good policies and hard work by the people are the prerequisites for stable growth in grain output

The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to grain production. This year, the central treasury continued to increase support for strengthening agriculture and benefiting farmers, promptly allocating funds for various subsidies including the 2015 direct grain subsidy and improved seed subsidy, stabilizing farmers' expectations for income from growing grain.

Good policies go hand in hand with hard work by the people. The Party's policy of emphasizing agriculture and grasping grain production has effectively protected farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain, and this year the area sown to grain continued to grow steadily. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the national area sown to grain was 1,700,107,000 mu, an increase of 9,269,000 mu over the previous year, or 0.5%. Hou Rui, a senior statistician in the Rural Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that the expansion of the area sown to grain created the foundational conditions for a bumper grain harvest.

The adjustment of the agricultural planting structure created reform-driven supply for increased grain output. Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that because growing cotton, rapeseed and other crops is labor-intensive and time-consuming and has relatively low comparative returns, some regions reduced the area planted to cotton and summer-harvested rapeseed and expanded the area planted to winter wheat, corn and other grain crops. Data show that in some areas of the Jianghuai region, the area sown to cotton fell by nearly 30%. Nationwide, about 6.7 billion jin of grain was added to output due to the expansion of sown area, contributing 23.1% to the increase in grain output.

The sustained development of modern agriculture created equipment-based supply for increased grain output. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that this year the national average yield per mu of grain crops reached 365.5 kg, an increase of 6.5 kg per mu over the previous year, or 1.8%. Since the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan," the proportion of effectively irrigated farmland has exceeded 52%, indicating that more than half of the nation's farmland can be ensured stable yields despite drought or excessive rain. The comprehensive mechanization level for plowing, sowing and harvesting of major crops nationwide exceeded 61%, marking that China's agricultural production mode has shifted from a centuries-old reliance mainly on human and animal power to a new stage dominated by mechanical operations.

Favorable weather and scientific and technological support achieved the rare "twelve consecutive increases" in the history of grain production

Hou Rui said that an important condition for grain output hitting a new high again this year was favorable weather.

Since the beginning of this year, agrometeorological conditions have been good and disasters relatively light. In particular, since last winter and this spring, the accumulated temperature above 10 degrees C, rainfall and cumulative sunshine hours in major grain-producing provinces have generally been higher than the previous year. Overall, agricultural meteorological disasters nationwide were relatively light.

Favorable weather plus scientific and technological support achieved the "twelve consecutive increases" in grain output. This year, the area planted to high-yield crops increased. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the national area sown to corn increased by 14,898,000 mu over the previous year, or 2.7%, driving a 1.3 percentage point increase in the national average grain yield per mu. Agricultural scientific and technological support was strong. This year, localities continued to strengthen investment in agricultural science and technology, continuously increased the promotion and application of improved seed breeding and soil testing and formulated fertilization, and provided soil testing and formulated fertilization technical services to 190 million farming households free of charge.

The contribution of agricultural science and technology to increased grain output continued to gain momentum. Data show that this year about 22.1 billion jin of grain was added to output due to higher yields per mu, contributing 76.9% to the increase in grain output. Li Guoxiang said that since the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan," the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress has reached 56%, marking that China's agricultural development has entered a new period from mainly relying on increased input of resource factors in the past to mainly relying on scientific and technological progress. At present, the coverage rate of improved crop seeds has remained stable at above 96%, marking that China has fully completed the upgrading and replacement of seeds used in agricultural production. (Reporters Gao Yuncai and Zhu Jianhong)

Applauding stable comprehensive grain production capacity

China's grain output has reached 1.24 trillion jin, achieving a record "twelve consecutive increases." This is a remarkable historical achievement worthy of applause.

At present, China's self-sufficiency rate for the three major grains of rice, wheat and corn remains above 98%, and per capita grain availability has reached 450 kg, higher than the world average. With less than 9% of the world's arable land, we produce 25% of the world's grain, feed nearly 20% of the world's population, and have achieved the transition from a recipient of food aid to a donor of food aid, making a major contribution to world food security.

However, for a period of time, China's grain sector has presented a situation of simultaneous increases in production, inventory and imports, with domestic grain prices substantially higher than international grain prices. Under the pattern of "twelve consecutive increases" in grain output, grain production must adapt to the new normal, and grain reform must shift from the demand side to the supply side.

To overcome the contradictions in grain production, the focus is to promote the shift of grain production from being mainly quantity-growth oriented to placing equal emphasis on quantity, quality and efficiency, and from relying on resources and material input to truly relying on scientific and technological progress and improving the quality of the labor force.

Adjusting the structure of grain production is extremely urgent. When the supply side of grain is relatively loose, when adjusting the planting structure, we should transition toward a balanced state of grain supply and demand, neither reducing too much nor failing to grasp the intensity and pace. We should pay more attention to improving grain production capacity and tap new potential in grain production. No matter how we transform or adjust, we must never lower grain production capacity or reduce arable land. This is the bottom line that must be upheld.

We must do everything possible to protect the interests and enthusiasm of grain-growing farmers. According to the top-level design of grain price reform, in the future it will be necessary to separate the grain market price from subsidies to farmers. After separating prices and subsidies, the grain market can be activated.