High-quality grain project reaps benefits for farmers, nation

China's flagship high-quality grain project is promoting farmers' income, increasing the food supply and meeting people's needs for the consumption upgrade in the process of rural vitalization, according to the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

Zhai Jianglin, chief engineer of the administration, said the central government allocated 21.5 billion yuan ($3.3 billion), and attracted local and social investment of more than 60 billion yuan in the effective implementation of high-quality grain projects.

Major grain-producing counties have all been involved in the post-production service system, an important part of the projects which helps improve grain quality, reduce grain loss and increase the benefits of farmers.

The quality and safety monitoring system can cover 60 percent of the grain-producing counties with more than 50,000 tons of grain.

China has added 50 million tons of high-quality grain through the projects.

"We want people's rice bags to contain more good grains and food oils to better meet their needs for consumption upgrades," Zhai said.

Qian Yi, director of the planning and construction department at the administration, said post-production services are vital to the entire grain industry.

So far, the country has built more than 5,300 post-production service centers, and nearly 560,000 granaries for farmers to scientifically store grain, Qian said.

"We will emphasize the role of post-production service centers and provide professional technology and market information services, helping farmers change from relying on the weather for food to working based on the weather information," he added.