Food plans to improve quality of grain supply

China has launched six improvement plans to boost a flagship high-quality grain project, according to the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.

The plans, which involve green storage, brand promotion, quality tracking, mechanization, emergency supply and food loss reduction, are expected to ensure sustainable national food security.

The green storage plan proposes building new high-standard granaries and improving warehouses, such as through air tightness and thermal insulation. A system to measure and control grain conditions should be established, while the ability to clean grain is expected to improve, the plan said.

By 2025, the country will realize temperature-controlled storage to maintain quality and freshness, reduce the use of chemicals, and create a friendly environment for food preservation, it added.

The quality and brand improvement plan said that by 2025, the supply of high-quality food will be more abundant, and the amount of high-quality grain will see an annual increase of 10 percent. The country will cultivate more grain and oil brands with increasing market competitiveness.

The online and offline grain market, which includes emergency supply centers and staple food kitchens, should be improved to progress from "eating enough" to "eating healthily", it said.

The grain-quality tracking plan aims to trace the quality of grain and oil in the entire product chain, ensuring food safety and quality from farmland to dining table. A series of national standards will be set for the quality of wheat, soybean and rice, it added.

The plan aims to improve quality and safety inspection and monitoring by using big data, the internet of things and other information technologies, further ensuring authenticity and accuracy.

The plan for improving mechanized equipment set higher goals for the use of advanced equipment in grain processing, drying, transporting and testing. Grain companies are encouraged to choose more mechanized equipment with independent intellectual property rights.

The plan for grain emergency supply asked 36 medium-sized and large cities to have food reserves to meet market demand for 15 days. More efficient emergency logistics and delivery abilities should also be achieved.

To reduce food loss in post-harvest procedures, one plan focuses on the tasks of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and actively promotes international cooperation in food saving with organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program.

Since the high-quality project started in 2017, the central government has allocated 21.5 billion yuan ($3.3 billion), and attracted local and private investment of more than 60 billion yuan toward its implementation, the administration said.