As China’s grain security faces ‘unprecedented’ difficulties, Beijing will ramp up subsidies
- With an eye on increasing its self-sufficiency in grain production, China is raising alarms about risks to its wheat output
- Climate-related disruptions took a heavy toll on crops last year, and report says China is at risk of falling below its so-called red line on grain production in the coming decade
China is sounding the alarm about “unprecedented” challenges facing the nation’s food security this year, while prioritising domestic grain production and soybean self-sufficiency in its annual blueprint for rural policies.
The concerns were outlined this week in the year’s first joint policy statement issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, the nation’s cabinet.
Atop the to-do list is the need to ensure that there is abundant year-round arable land for grain to maximise output, particularly in the face of climate-related output disruptions.
Additionally, the document emphasised the need to implement a nationwide programme to boost the production capacity of soybeans and oil plants; to identify detailed steps and measures that can be taken in various regions across the country; and to grant more subsidies and incentives to encourage farmers to grow more soybeans and corn.
The document, devoted to rural issues, has been issued for 19 straight years and is considered an important indicator of policy priorities.
“[We must] firmly adhere to the two bottom lines of national food security and [preventing the] large-scale re-emergence of poverty,” it states this year.
The production of summer grains, which account for about 40 per cent of staple crops in the world’s most populous nation, is now at risk, according to Tang Renjian, China’s minister of agriculture and rural affairs.