Diversity of local food plants falls

Official says urgent effort needed to rescue vanishing seed stocks

The number of agricultural species endemic to certain localities in China - grains and other plants - has been declining rapidly, and urgent rescue efforts are needed, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Wednesday.

Local species decreased by more than 70 percent to about 3,000 from more than 10,000 in 1956, an ongoing national census conducted by the ministry since 2015 has found, said Zhang Yanqiu, chief for seed management at the ministry.