Eleven consecutive years of wheat growth does not mean China's grain problem has been solved

On the morning of the 24th, the “Foundation of a Great Power——China's Rural Development Golden Autumn Report” hosted by China National Radio's China Rural Voice was held at China Agricultural University. At the meeting, Bi Meijia, Chief Economist of the Ministry of Agriculture, responded in his speech to the “China grain threat theory” advocated by some European and American countries, saying: On the issue of food security, China has not only not posed a threat to the world, but has also made important contributions to world food security.

China achieved “eleven consecutive years of growth” in wheat this year. China has made important contributions to world food security

He said that China achieved “eleven consecutive years of growth” in wheat this year, and the autumn harvest is about to get fully underway. Although severe drought occurred in some areas, overall this year is still a bumper harvest year. He said that this year's “Foundation of a Great Power—China's Rural Development Golden Autumn Report” took food security as the theme of its first forum, which fully reflects the high political consciousness of the news and publicity departments and their people-oriented sentiment of caring about the warmth and fullness of the common people.

Bi Meijia said that China's grain issue is very sensitive, not only attracting the attention of Chinese people, but also drawing great attention from the world. As early as 1994, the American Mr. Brown published the article “Who Will Feed China?”, which caused a great response around the world. Twenty years later, he published the article “Can the World Feed China?”, once again attracting global attention and once making the “China grain threat theory” rampant. Facts speak louder than words. Since reform and opening up, China has produced 1/4 of the world's grain and fed 1/5 of the world's population. Under the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the diligent and wise Chinese farmers used the above ironclad facts to give a resounding answer to Mr. Brown's doubts. It should be said that on the issue of food security, China has not only not posed a threat to the world, but has also made important contributions to world food security.

Bi Meijia said: “In my heart, there is still an unsolved knot: some European and American countries, on the one hand, hoarsely advocate the ‘China grain threat theory’, saying that China must rush to buy grain on the international market to feed its huge population, that world grain prices will rise, and that some poor developing countries will find it increasingly difficult to afford grain; on the other hand, when their agriculture ministers come to Beijing, they all try every possible means to sell us grain, meat, dairy products and so on. Are they not putting on a two-man show!”

The food security challenges facing China are also constantly increasing

At the same time, Bi Meijia pointed out that although we have now achieved “ten consecutive years of growth” in grain, and this year is another bumper harvest year with hope of “eleven consecutive years of growth”, this does not mean that China's grain issue has already been settled. He said that in fact, despite consecutive increases in grain output, the food security challenges facing China are also constantly increasing. On the one hand, agricultural production is subject to increasingly greater resource constraints, with land decreasing by several million mu each year, the environmental quality of cultivated land soil deteriorating, water resources becoming increasingly scarce, and the problem of farmers' “aging” becoming increasingly serious, among others. On the other hand, with the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization and the increase in the total population, the demand for grain is growing rigidly. It is estimated that by 2020 China's total grain demand will reach 1.4 trillion jin. On the basis that grain output has already reached the high level of 1.2 trillion jin, how to maintain an annual increase of more than 30 billion jin is as difficult as for a high jumper: the higher the jump, the greater the difficulty of improving. Moreover, as people's living standards improve, they not only want to eat enough and eat well, but also want to eat safely and eat healthily, so the requirements for quality and safety are also becoming higher and higher.

Focus on five areas of work to ensure China's food security

Facing severe challenges, how can China ensure its food security? General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that with grain in hand, there is no panic in the heart, and the Chinese people's rice bowl must at all times be firmly held in our own hands, and it should mainly contain Chinese grain. The new central leadership collective, sizing up the situation, clearly put forward the “national food security strategy” under the new circumstances, which is to adhere to the “twenty-character guideline” of “taking ourselves as the mainstay, basing ourselves on domestic production, ensuring production capacity, moderate imports, and technological support”. I believe that as long as we firmly uphold the “three confidences”, further consolidate and improve policies to strengthen agriculture and benefit farmers, protect the enthusiasm of farmers for farming and growing grain, of scientific and technical personnel, and of cadres at all levels for supporting agriculture and promoting grain production, and carry out reform, innovation, and comprehensive measures, we can firmly grasp the initiative in the national food security strategy. As the competent department for grain production, ensuring national food security is the bounden duty of the agricultural department, and we will make unremitting efforts together with relevant departments to this end. The focus is on doing a good job in the following five areas.

First, hold the red line of cultivated land and strive to improve land quality. Cultivated land is the foundation of grain production. Although the second national detailed land survey increased the book figure of cultivated land by 203 million mu, in reality there was no increase; this cultivated land had been under cultivation all along, only the base figure was unclear in the past and is now relatively clear. General Secretary Xi emphasized that cultivated land must be protected like cultural relics, or even like giant pandas, and that the strictest cultivated land protection system must be implemented. We must actively explore the designation of permanent basic farmland, strictly observe the red line of cultivated land, and strictly observe the bottom lines of 1.6 billion mu of grain sown area and 1.4 billion mu of cereal sown area. At the same time, great efforts must be made to improve land quality. At present, among China's cultivated land, low- and medium-yield fields account for 2/3. Therefore, we must accelerate the construction of agricultural infrastructure, accelerate the implementation of the “National Overall Plan for the Construction of High-Standard Farmland”, and build 800 million mu of high-standard farmland that ensures stable yields despite drought or excessive rain by 2020. Through implementing fertile soil projects, organic matter improvement projects, conservation tillage, and so on, we will enhance the capacity for sustainable development of grain production. On the other hand, we must intensify efforts to remediate soil pollution.

Second, raise the level of science and technology and strive to tap the potential for increasing production. Comrade Deng Xiaoping said that science and technology are the primary productive forces. In recent years, China has suffered many natural disasters every year, but grain production has always maintained steady growth. An important reason is that our level of agricultural equipment has improved, and in particular science and technology have played a pivotal role. In 2013, the contribution rate of China's agricultural scientific and technological progress reached 55.2%, but there is still a large gap compared with developed countries. Next, we will continue to unswervingly follow the path of connotative development that relies on scientific and technological progress and increases per-unit yield, giving grain production the wings of science and technology. “A good son has a good mother, good seed yields more grain.” The focus is on deepening the reform of the seed industry system and accelerating the cultivation of a number of breakthrough excellent varieties with major application prospects and independent intellectual property rights. The per-unit yield of the super rice cultivated by Academician Yuan Longping has approached 1,000 kg. We will actively promote integrated innovation in agricultural technology, carry out large-scale high-yield creation and grain yield increase model research on a large scale, and promote the delivery of key technologies to households and fields. For example, Qiqihar City widely promoted the use of drip irrigation under film water-saving technology in corn planting, increasing yield by 30%-50% per mu and saving 85% of water. By promoting the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy, we will accelerate the process of full mechanization of grain production. In 2013, the comprehensive mechanization level of China's crop cultivation and harvesting reached 59.5%, 27 percentage points higher than 10 years ago, and the potential is still great. Now wheat has basically achieved full mechanization, but there is still a gap in the mechanized production of corn and rice.

Third, accelerate reform and innovation and build a new type of agricultural operation system. In the long run, the fundamental way out for solving China's grain problem lies in deepening reform and accelerating the building of a three-dimensional composite modern agricultural operation system based on household family operations, linked by cooperation and association, and supported by socialized services. With cultivating new-type professional farmers as the starting point, we will accelerate the cultivation of new-type agricultural operation entities. We will vigorously support large grain-growing households, family farms, farmers' cooperatives, leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, and socialized service organizations to accelerate development. At present, China has nearly more than 900,000 family farms, nearly 1.2 million lawfully registered farmers' cooperatives, more than 120,000 leading enterprises in agricultural industrialization, more than 150,000 various public welfare service institutions, and more than 1 million agricultural operating service organizations. In accordance with the requirements of the laws of input and output, we will actively and steadily promote appropriately scaled agricultural operations. On the basis of stabilizing the rural land contracting relationship and maintaining it unchanged for a long time, we will guide the orderly transfer of land and encourage the transfer of contracted management rights in the open market to specialized large households, family farms, farmers' cooperatives, and agricultural enterprises, so as to develop various forms of scaled operation. To adapt to the changes in operation entities, we will strive to improve the agricultural socialized service system. For example, vigorously implement specialized unified prevention and control of pests and diseases. According to typical surveys in some provinces, compared with farmers' own prevention and control, each mu of rice fields can reduce pesticide use by about 20%, lower labor costs by 38 yuan, recover 50 jin of rice, and save costs and increase efficiency by more than 100 yuan. For another example, the Renfa Agricultural Machinery Cooperative in Keshan County, Heilongjiang Province, through combining agricultural machinery, agronomy, and scaled operation, increased corn and potato yields by 200 jin and 700 jin per mu respectively.

Fourth, make good use of both resources and both markets. We joined the WTO with the aim of using the world market to accelerate the development of our economy. At present, global grain trade volume is about 500-600 billion jin, less than half of China's grain consumption. We should import moderately on the basis of “ensuring basic self-sufficiency in cereals and absolute security of staple food”, with the focus on adjusting variety surpluses and shortages and regulating annual balance. In recent years, with the improvement of people's consumption levels, the demand for diversified grain varieties has also been continuously increasing. In particular, the supply of some high-end high-quality rice and high-quality strong-gluten and weak-gluten wheat is insufficient and requires appropriate imports for adjustment; corn, as an important energy feed and industrial raw material, is also imported in certain quantities.

Fifth, earnestly do a good job in the major article of saving grain. Ren Zhengxiao, Director of the National Grain Administration, said at the APEC Ministers Responsible for Agriculture and Food meeting that more than 70 billion jin of grain is wasted each year in transportation, storage, and processing. Some research institutions also believe that the food wasted in China each year can feed 200 million people. Seeing such figures, everyone will certainly feel shocked. We must firmly establish the awareness that “saving grain is increasing grain”, and the news and publicity departments should vigorously advocate the concept that “saving grain is glorious, wasting grain is shameful”, persistently carry out the “clean plate” campaign, and call on the whole society to save grain. At the same time, we should also make full use of grasslands and crop straw and actively promote the development of herbivorous animal husbandry. In this way, we can both solve the problem of insufficient supply of beef and mutton and save feed grain.