Despite China's population increasing by 270 million during the
past 20 years, grain production per capita has still managed to
rise from 300 to 400 kg in the same period due to major
developments in agricultural technology.
Song Jian, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference, told the first
International Rice Congress which was held recently in Beijing
that, "Chinese agricultural technology had made enormous
contributions to safeguarding China's food supplies."
China has over 1.2 billion people. Although China holds the world's
third largest total area of land dedicated to agriculture, per
capita farmland is a mere 0.1 hectares, which accounts for 43
percent of the world's per capita farming area. The Chinese
government has given top priority to agricultural and rural
development, successfully feeding 22 percent of the world
population with only 9 percent of the world's total farmland.
"China is showing the world the way to economic progress and
poverty reduction, under extreme population pressure, with limited
natural resources," said Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of the
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.
Rice is the staple food for more than 50 percent of Chinese people.
The total area for rice cultivation is 28.6 million hectares. The
cultivation of rice occupies almost one third of farmland in China,
and total rice production accounts for 40 percent of all food
produced.
China had become the world's largest rice producer and consumer,
making up 20 percent of the world's total rice farmland and 31
percent of rice output. The average per hectare yield is 1.6 times
greater than the world average.
Song Jian said, "Due to the efforts of agricultural scientists,
China has witnessed a continuous upgrading of rice varieties and
farming technologies, with the total output and per hectare yield
still rising."
The use of modern technology for the cultivation of rice in China
began in 1970. Owing to the efforts of Chinese agronomists, led by
Yuan Longping, commonly regarded as "the father of hybrid rice,"
significant achievements have been made in propagation of hybrid
rice, helping China increase its total grain output.
Statistics show that the per hectare yield of rice in 1950 was 2.1
tonnes, increasing to 3.97 tonnes in 1978, and 6.15 tonnes in 1999.
In 2000, the concept of "super rice" was experimented with
agronomists, again led by Yuan Longping, achieving up to 10.5
tonnes per hectare. By 1999, the accumulated additional output of
hybrid rice was 300 billion kg. Thousands of Chinese farmers were
able to assist in solving the nation's food problem.
Peter Kenmoore, a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
official, said, "Thanks to hybrid rice, Chinese farmers have
reduced by several million hectares land allocated to the
production of rice, freeing up ground for other agricultural
activities and giving farmers the opportunity to improve their
incomes."
Song Jian said, "At present there are 800 million people in the
world who do not have enough food to eat. They are still battling
with perils of hunger. The world's population is expected to rise
from 6 billion to 9 billion by the middle of 21st century. China's
population is estimated to reach 1.6 billion by 2032. Maintaining
sustainable rice production in the 21st century is critical in
securing adequate food resources to feed the whole world. This duty
and responsibility will fall to scientists, and especially
agronomists.
According to Shen Guofang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of
Engineering, "China's agriculture is still confronted with many
challenges, and the way forward for sustainable development in
agriculture is a revolution in agricultural science and
technology."
(china.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, September 23, 2002)