Food security faces four major challenges, how should we respond?

First, the "inversion" of domestic and international grain prices, with domestic grain prices much higher than the international market, not only in important grains and legumes such as rice, wheat and soybeans, but also in cotton and dairy products. Without price competitiveness, it poses a relatively large threat to the security of the agricultural industry and to the growth of farmers' incomes.

The fifth "China Economic Security Forum", jointly hosted by the Social Sciences Development Research Center of the Ministry of Education's Higher Education Institutions and the School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of Renmin University of China, was held in Beijing recently. At the meeting, Chen Xiwen, deputy head of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, gave an in-depth explanation of the current situation, challenges and countermeasures of China's food security under the new circumstances. He believes that in recent years, China's grain harvests have been bumper year after year, and food security is guaranteed on the whole. But it must also be seen that many new situations and new challenges are emerging. At present, ensuring food security still requires studying and responding to 4 challenges.

First, the "inversion" of domestic and international grain prices, with domestic grain prices much higher than the international market, not only in important grains and legumes such as rice, wheat and soybeans, but also in cotton and dairy products. Without price competitiveness, it poses a relatively large threat to the security of the agricultural industry and to the growth of farmers' incomes. Second, against the background of rising wage levels, the cost of agricultural production is rising rapidly. Third, the long-term pursuit of output has caused relatively large damage to the agricultural production environment. China's agricultural achievements are great, and the environmental cost paid is also considerable. Fourth, farmers' household incomes are currently becoming increasingly diversified, and changes in the income structure attract more farmers to shift their energy toward wage income, reducing the appeal of agriculture.

For this reason, Chen Xiwen stressed that farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain must be stimulated. Through institutional reform, the price formation mechanism should be changed, so that the market plays a more important role in price formation. Institutional innovation within agriculture should be advanced, including developing various forms of appropriately scaled operations.