China's annual post-harvest grain loss exceeds 100 billion jin, and conservation brooks no delay

The Anhui Modern Grain Logistics Center has not only built tall flat warehouses, squat silos and other new types of storage facilities, but also adopted the latest grain storage technologies such as mechanical ventilation grain storage technology, pressed-cover airtight grain storage technology, circulation fumigation technology, grain cooling technology, computer-based grain condition monitoring technology and grain drying technology, achieving intelligent management of the grain depot. In the photo, a large unloading conveyor is unloading grain from a grain truck, which goes directly into storage after impurity removal. Photo by Liu Hui, reporter for Economic Daily

From August 14 to August 16, the 2014 High-Level Dialogue Meeting and Plenary Meeting of the APEC Partnership for Food Security Policy Mechanism (PPFS) was held in Beijing. For the first time, the meeting took grain conservation and loss reduction as an important measure to ensure food security for all economies, and explicitly proposed that by 2020, efforts should be made to reduce the total amount of food loss and waste in the Asia-Pacific region by 10% (compared with the 2011-2012 year). As an important member of APEC, China has vigorously promoted grain conservation and loss reduction in recent years, making important contributions to ensuring food security in the Asia-Pacific region and even the world.

Grain conservation and loss reduction cannot wait

China's grain loss and waste is astonishing. According to the latest statistics from the State Administration of Grain, annual post-harvest grain loss exceeds 100 billion jin, equivalent to the output of 150 million mu of fertile farmland

At the just-concluded APEC Exhibition on Food Technology, Facilities and Resources, although the booth of Hubei Yewei Grain and Oil Machinery Group Co., Ltd. was arranged in an inconspicuous place, its display board for mechanized grain turnover storage bins attracted the attention of many people.

Cai Jun, deputy general manager of the company, told reporters that the company produces scientific grain storage bins with a capacity of 1 tonne and mechanized grain turnover storage bins with a capacity of 300 tonnes to 400 tonnes. The loading and unloading operation system of the mechanized grain turnover storage bin is composed of equipment such as a cleaning sieve, conveyor, grain unloader, ventilation fan, ground cage and grain condition monitoring, facilitating grain loading and unloading operations. At the bottom of the storage bin, there is a ventilation system with a “人”-shaped ventilation groove connected to a ventilation fan, ensuring the safety of grain storage. “In recent years, large-scale grain planting has developed rapidly, and farmers' grain storage methods have undergone new changes. Large grain-growing households, family farms, farmers' professional cooperatives and grain processing enterprises often need short-term grain storage. Mechanized grain turnover storage bins can meet the short-term grain storage needs of new agricultural operating entities. After experiments, grain stored using this kind of storage bin basically achieves no pests, no mildew and no rodent damage, and farmers' grain storage losses can drop from the previous average of more than 6% to below 1%.” Cai Jun said.

Cai Jun expressed the hope that through this exhibition, the company's scientific grain storage technology could be introduced to other APEC economies, so as to play a certain role in promoting grain conservation and loss reduction in the Asia-Pacific region. At this exhibition, Chinese government departments, scientific research institutions and enterprises fully demonstrated their achievements in grain conservation and loss reduction, allowing representatives of various economies who came to visit to share China's experience in grain conservation and loss reduction.

The grain supply and demand situation in the Asia-Pacific region will remain in a tight balance for a long time. Constrained by hard constraints on natural resources such as arable land, water resources and the ecological environment, increasing grain production is becoming more and more difficult, and food security for poor areas and vulnerable groups within APEC economies still faces great threats. At the same time, grain waste in the Asia-Pacific region is serious. According to estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly 30% of grain in the Asia-Pacific region is lost during harvesting and distribution. Unscientific production planning, failure to store properly and weak transportation systems are the main causes of grain loss.

Zeng Liying, deputy director of the State Administration of Grain, said in an interview with an Economic Daily reporter that if grain loss is not resolutely curbed, the contradiction between grain supply and demand in the Asia-Pacific region will intensify, and promoting grain conservation and loss reduction brooks no delay.

As the Asia-Pacific region's number one country by population and a major grain consumer, China plays a pivotal role in ensuring food security in the Asia-Pacific region. In recent years, China has taken various measures to improve its comprehensive grain production capacity, and grain output and quality have continued to improve, firmly holding the Chinese people's rice bowl in their own hands. However, China's grain loss and waste is astonishing. According to the latest statistics from the State Administration of Grain, annual post-harvest grain loss and waste exceeds 100 billion jin, accounting for more than 9% of total grain output, equivalent to the output of 150 million mu of fertile farmland. In 2013, China began implementing the “Grain Security Project”, strengthening infrastructure construction such as grain storage and logistics, and effectively improving its capacity for grain conservation and loss reduction. This year and next, China will build 100 billion jin of storage capacity in the major grain-producing areas of the northeast and south, which will greatly reduce loss and waste in the storage stage in major grain-producing areas.

Loss-reduction technology needs improvement

China widely adopts the “four-in-one” new grain storage technologies of grain condition monitoring, mechanical ventilation, circulation fumigation and grain cooling in grain storage, achieving remarkable results

China's grain loss and waste mainly occurs in links such as grain storage and transportation, processing, and food and beverage consumption. Promoting advanced and practical grain conservation and loss-reduction technologies is an important means of reducing post-harvest grain loss. In recent years, grain departments have vigorously promoted advanced and practical grain loss-reduction technologies in links such as grain purchasing, storage and transportation, and processing, achieving remarkable results.

Chinese farmers have long had a tradition of storing grain, but due to backward storage conditions, grain losses amount to 40 billion jin each year. In recent years, China has implemented the “Farmer Scientific Grain Storage Project&rdquo, equipping farmers with standardized grain storage bins. By the end of 2013, grain departments had equipped 26 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country with 6.77 million sets of standardized grain storage equipment. According to estimates, the specially allocated grain storage equipment can store about 13 million tonnes of grain, and can reduce grain storage losses by 850,000 tonnes each year.

Mildew is also one of the main causes of post-harvest grain loss. China's annual grain loss caused by mildew reaches 42 billion jin. Grain mildew is mostly caused by the low level of drying mechanization. Therefore, promoting grain drying machinery and technology can effectively reduce grain loss. Now, demand for grain drying machinery among new agricultural operating entities such as farmers' professional cooperatives, family farms and large grain-growing households has grown substantially. The modern agricultural machinery cooperative in Anquan Village, Changsheng Township, Kedong County, Heilongjiang, built a grain depot with a storage capacity of 30,000 tonnes last year, and also installed a drying tower with a daily drying capacity of 200 tonnes, which, in addition to drying grain produced by the cooperative, can also provide services to surrounding farmers.

China widely adopts the “four-in-one” new grain storage technologies of grain condition monitoring, mechanical ventilation, circulation fumigation and grain cooling in grain storage, systematically solving problems such as mildew prevention and freshness preservation, pest control, and consumption and emission reduction in stored grain. It is understood that the “four-in-one” grain storage technology has now been widely applied in more than 1,000 central grain reserves (with more than 60 million tonnes of storage capacity), creating economic benefits of more than 40 billion yuan, bringing China's grain storage technology to the international advanced level.

At present, about 80% of China's grain is stored in warehouses in the form of bulk grain, but the proportion of bulk grain loading, unloading and transportation is relatively low, and grain loss in the entire transportation link is relatively large. Therefore, in the grain logistics link, it is necessary to vigorously promote the “four bulk” technologies (bulk loading, bulk unloading, bulk storage and bulk transportation), improve bulk grain distribution, receiving and unloading, and transportation facilities, and reduce waste during grain transportation.

⟦NL> In the grain processing link, waste is serious due to reasons such as extensive processing and excessive processing of finished grain. According to estimates, China wastes more than 15 billion jin of grain in the processing link each year. In the future, it is necessary to actively promote the application of new technologies and new processes, and focus on reducing loss and waste in the grain processing link.

Make grain conservation a habit

To form a social atmosphere of grain conservation and loss reduction throughout society, it is necessary to deeply advance demonstration projects and special actions for grain conservation and loss reduction, and form a long-term mechanism for grain conservation and loss reduction

When an Economic Daily reporter dined in the restaurant of COFCO Group's Health and Nutrition Research Institute, a paper sign on the serving counter read: Saving grain is a kind of temperament. In this way, COFCO Group constantly reminds employees to save grain and turns saving grain into an inner cultivation of employees. Food and beverage waste is an important cause of post-harvest grain loss, and China's annual food and beverage waste reaches 200 billion yuan. Reducing waste at the dining table is an important means of grain conservation and loss reduction.

“China's grain waste is serious. Advocating grain conservation and loss reduction should penetrate every link of social production and life. It is necessary not only to reduce grain loss and waste in the storage link by manufacturing and promoting scientific grain storage bins, but also to convey the concept of grain conservation and loss reduction through product sales.” Cai Jun said.

It is necessary to turn saving grain into a habit and even a concept, so as to minimize grain loss and waste. To this end, the State Administration of Grain carries out the “Save a Grain of Rice” public welfare publicity activity every year; organizes publicity activities such as “World Food Day” and “National Grain Love and Grain Conservation Publicity Week” every year; and deeply carries out activities such as “loving grain and conserving grain” entering schools, families and communities, arousing everyone's awareness of loving and conserving grain, and leading and driving the whole society to form a social atmosphere in which conservation is glorious and waste is shameful.

Zeng Liying said that to form a social atmosphere of grain conservation and loss reduction throughout society, it is also necessary to deeply advance demonstration projects and special actions for grain conservation and loss reduction, continue to expand the scope of implementation of the special project for farmers' scientific grain storage, vigorously promote moderate processing of grain and oil and efficient utilization of by-products, and, through scientific and technological grain conservation and loss reduction and scientific diets, form a long-term mechanism for grain conservation and loss reduction featuring government leadership, enterprise implementation and nationwide participation.