Zhonghongwang.com:

We have noticed that uncertainties have mounted in the current international grain market. How will this impact China's food security? In addition, what measures will the NDRC take to ensure the safe and stable supply of grain and other critical agricultural products? Thank you.

Ou Hong:

Thank you for your questions. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has presented a series of important proposals on ensuring national food security and emphasized that we must always have control over our own food supply, with the main supplier being China itself. China's annual grain output has increased by nearly 70 million tonnes in the past decade, remaining above 650 million tonnes for seven consecutive years.

Since this year, due to various factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, international food prices have risen sharply, which has inevitably affected our domestic food prices. However, the increase in domestic food prices is significantly lower than that in the international market. China's grain supply is fully guaranteed, and this year's summer grain is bound to have a good harvest. We are faced with many risks and challenges in achieving the goal of ensuring the basic self-sufficiency of grains and absolute food security. Still, through hard work, we have the foundation and conditions to achieve it. The NDRC will work with relevant departments to unswervingly promote the implementation of the grain production strategy based on farmland management and technological application. We will focus on increasing production, optimizing structure, enhancing capabilities, and guiding consumption, and ensuring national food security at a higher level to better meet the people's ever-growing needs for a better life. 

First, we will increase production. We will increase support for grain production, adhere to and improve the minimum purchase prices policy for rice and wheat and the grain-growing subsidy system, speed up efforts for grain insurance, and ensure reasonable income for grain growers and keep their enthusiasm. We will prioritize limited water and soil resources to produce rice, wheat and other food and consolidate and increase corn production capacity. We will vigorously promote the strip-shaped composite planting of corn and soybeans and further focus on producing soybeans, rapeseed, peanuts and other oilseed crops to improve production levels.

Second, we will optimize the structure. We will implement the "big food" concept (developing food resources in an all-round and multi-channel way), adhere to the principle of growing grain, developing the economy and grazing in light of actual conditions, and foster a modern agricultural production structure and regional layout that are compatible with market demand and carrying capacity of resources and the environment. We will, on the premise of ensuring national food security, promote the combination of land use and land fertility improvement, take more decisive action to address agricultural pollution from non-point sources, and realize the green development of agriculture. We will actively cultivate new types of agribusiness entities, vigorously develop producer services, develop appropriately scaled agribusiness operations of various kinds, and continuously make grain production more modernized.

Third, we will strengthen capacity. We will enhance the protection of cropland and scale up the development of farmland. We will work to properly implement the plan for developing high-standard farmland and continuously upgrade low- and medium-yield cropland. We will also accelerate the development of high-efficiency water-saving irrigation and construct or upgrade a number of medium and large irrigated areas in regions with suitable water and soil conditions. We will further carry out chernozem soil conservation projects and turn suitable saline-alkali lands and other land reserves into cropland in a proper and orderly manner. We will strengthen the development of the modern seed industry and other supportive technological measures, launch the initiative on seed industry vitalization, make efforts to improve the modern seed industry, and speed up construction of the systems concerning grain production, purchasing, storage, processing and sales.

Fourth, we will provide more guidance to the consumption side. We will guide the orderly development of intensive grain product processing, and avoid the situation where people and animals compete for food due to intensive grain product processing. We will work to better ensure the supply of corn that is used for animal feed and develop intensive corn processing in a reasonable manner. We will proactively promote moderate processing technologies that reduce food loss and waste. We will also implement the Anti-Food Waste Law, carry out the action plan on saving food, ramp up efforts to promote the consumption of health services, and guide food consumption from excess toward being healthy and nutrition-centered. We will work to develop a science-based and sound diet structure and a social atmosphere that features diligence and frugality. Thank you.