China details efforts to boost agricultural production

BEIJING -- China's top economic planner has detailed tasks to boost agricultural production, urging efforts to stabilize grain output, expand the planting of soybean and oilseed crops, and ensure the supply of farm produce.

Primary agriculture production areas should improve their comprehensive grain production capacity, said a National Development and Reform Commission circular. The main sales areas should effectively stabilize and increase grain self-sufficiency rates, while regions where agriculture production and sales are balanced should ensure basic self-sufficiency.

Vigorous efforts should be made to expand the planting of soybean and oilseed crops to support coordinated development between grain and oilseed crops production, said the circular.

The economic planner also called for close attention to the supply and demand of live pigs, pledging to take targeted measures to stabilize the basic production capacity and prevent fluctuations.

Other measures aimed at boosting agriculture production include strengthening the construction of agriculture infrastructure and stabilizing prices of agricultural materials, including fertilizers.

China has set a target to ensure the full-year grain output stays above 650 billion kg in 2022. Last year, China's grain output hit a new high of 683 billion kg, with grain farmland exceeding 1.76 billion mu (about 117.3 million hectares).