New breakthrough in super rice adds further guarantee for China's food security
On October 10, the Ministry of Agriculture organized experts to measure the yield of the fourth-phase China super rice project targeting 1000 kg per mu, led by Academician Yuan Longping, the “father of hybrid rice”. The results showed that the per-mu yield of the fourth-phase super rice in a 100-mu plot in Xupu County, Hunan Province, exceeded 1000 kg, setting a new record of 1026.70 kg.
With grain in hand, there is no panic in the heart. Feeding a population of 1.3 billion has always been the top priority in governing the country and ensuring stability. In the 1990s, American economist Dr. Brown raised the sharp proposition of “who will feed China in the 21st century”, which set off international public opinion and even triggered a new round of the China threat theory. Lessons from both positive and negative experiences at home and abroad show that the rice bowl of the Chinese people must always be firmly held in the hands of the Chinese people themselves. Therefore, successive central leadership collectives have paid attention to placing food security in a prominent position in governance.
When examining China's food security, although Chinese people now have no worries about food and clothing, it must be admitted that enormous challenges are faced. The population base is large and will continue to grow, reaching its peak in the next few years. Due to urbanization and road transportation, the area of cultivated land continues to decrease, and the red line of 1.8 billion mu of cultivated land may be impacted at any time. The overall deterioration of China's environment has not been fundamentally improved, and agricultural production faces ecological security risks. Grain prices have long been low, the comparative benefits of growing grain are not high, and it is difficult to mobilize farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain, among other issues. These challenges cannot be avoided or bypassed. How to respond to the challenges and safeguard China's food security? Obviously, relying on science and technology to increase yield per unit area is one of the best paths. In this sense, the new breakthrough of 1000 kg per mu in super rice created by the research team led by Yuan Longping undoubtedly adds a “safety lock” to China's food security and also brings new good news for solving human hunger. Why say this? It can be explained from the following three dimensions.
First, the new breakthrough in super rice per-mu yield means solving the food security issue by economic means. Food must avoid a situation in which supply falls short of demand; on the contrary, a moderate excess of supply over demand is necessary. This is determined by grain's attributes as a special commodity. Excess supply over demand causes grain prices to fall, harming the interests of grain farmers. The breakthrough of super rice per-mu yield exceeding 1000 kg increases yield per unit area. Under the conditions of unchanged cultivated land and grain prices, it not only ensures market grain supply but also increases farmers' income from growing grain. In this way, solving the food security issue by economic means, on the one hand, costs the least, and on the other hand, it is the most effective and lasting key move for consolidating food security.
Second, the new breakthrough in super rice per-mu yield meets the objective needs of population growth. It will still be several years before China reaches its population peak, and only then will the contradiction between grain supply and demand become most prominent. It is necessary to plan ahead and take preventive measures. Super rice per-mu yield exceeded 800 kg in 2004, exceeded 900 kg in 2012, and exceeded 1000 kg in 2014. Such a spiraling upward curve of per-mu yield indicates that grain increases have taken a step ahead of the arrival of the population peak. This is the result of the far-sightedness and hard work of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Yuan Longping's research team, providing a strong guarantee for China's grain self-sufficiency.
Third, the new breakthrough in super rice per-mu yield strengthens China's initiative in deepening reform and development. Former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger said: “If you control oil, you control all nations; if you control food, you control all people.” At present, China is continuously advancing the construction of the “new four modernizations”: new industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization. The significance of super rice per-mu yield exceeding 1000 kg also lies in that food security has not fallen into the trap of relying on imports, but is instead advanced in coordination with the construction of the “new four modernizations”. In this way, the country can devote itself wholeheartedly to construction and concentrate on development, firmly grasping the initiative in reform and development, so that reform and development will not be diverted due to a grain crisis.
There is no end to scientific research breakthroughs, and no end to safeguarding food security. Looking to the future, the “post-80s” old man Yuan Longping has proposed even higher goals for super rice yields. People will see that in realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, super rice will be a cornerstone of pivotal importance.