Amid ‘super’ El Nino worry, Li Qiang vows ‘all necessary measures’ to secure autumn harvest
During an inspection tour in northeastern China, Premier Li says advanced tech can protect crop yield
The country’s No 2 political figure visited the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, which together generated nearly a fifth of the country’s grain output last year.
During the three-day tour that began on Monday, Li visited farms, research institutes and agricultural companies, inspected soybean, corn and rice crops, and repeatedly stressed the need to secure a strong harvest.
“The autumn harvest accounts for the bulk of China’s annual grain production, and crops are now at a critical stage,” Li said, calling for better field management, stable supplies and prices of agricultural inputs, and stronger policy support to secure a bumper harvest.
Li also reiterated Beijing’s long-standing emphasis on food self-sufficiency, invoking the oft-repeated line that China must “keep its rice bowl firmly in its own hands”.
The coming autumn harvest typically accounts for about three-quarters of China’s annual grain output, making it critical to the country’s efforts to feed its 1.4 billion people and reduce its reliance on imports.
However, frequent extreme weather, combined with disruptions to commodity and fertiliser shipments related to the Middle East conflict, has added pressure to global food production this year.