China's agricultural science and technology contribution rate reached 56% in 2014

Li Jiayang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), said at the CAAS work conference today that grain production achieved an “eleventh consecutive increase” last year, with agricultural science and technology making a huge contribution, and the contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress reaching 56%.

Li Jiayang said that in 2014, CAAS completed the selection of research teams for 32 pilot institutes in batches. The original 1026 research groups were optimized and integrated into 315 research teams, and 8 research teams were formed across institutes. New breakthroughs were made in high-yield research on staple crops. Hybrid rice from the Rice Research Institute and new maize varieties from the Institute of Crop Sciences set new per-mu yield records of 955 kg and 1227.6 kg respectively. Seven papers were published in top international academic journals such as Nature and Science. A total of 221 scientific and technological achievements were obtained throughout the year, 7 achievements completed as the first completing unit won national awards, 2 awards were won as a participating unit, and 37 provincial and ministerial-level awards were received.