People's Review: Ensuring Food Security and Strengthening China's Rice Bowl

Ensuring food security depends not only on yield, but also on grain production capacity. This requires us to always focus on our own agricultural production and respond to the uncertainty of the external environment with the certainty of domestic stable production and supply guarantee

A solid granary brings peace to the world. Ensuring national food security is an eternal issue, and this string cannot be loosened at any time

Abundant grain harvest, proactive overall situation. This year, the national increase in autumn grain production has become a foregone conclusion, and grain production will reach a historic high. China's grain production will usher in its 18th harvest year. This marks that China's grain production will stand at a steady level of 1.3 trillion kilograms for seven consecutive years, laying a solid foundation for sustained, healthy and stable economic development, and creating favorable conditions for a good start and a good step in the 14th Five Year Plan.

Grain is safe for the world, and agriculture is stable for the country.   At present, the per capita food consumption in China exceeds 474.4 kilograms, which is higher than the international food security standard line of 400 kilograms per capita; The self-sufficiency rate of wheat and rice exceeds 100%, and the self-sufficiency rate of corn reaches over 95%, achieving basic self-sufficiency of grains and absolute food security; The production of fruits, vegetables, tea, meat, eggs, fish and other products has remained the world's top, better meeting the increasingly upgrading consumption needs of the people. China has solved the food problem for about 20% of the world's population by using 9% of the world's arable land and 6% of the world's freshwater resources. The Chinese people's rice bowl is firmly in their own hands.

  This requires us to always focus on our own agricultural production and respond to the uncertainty of the external environment with the certainty of domestic stable production and supply.

Farmland is the lifeblood of food production. To ensure food security and secure China's rice bowl, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of high standard farmland and truly achieve high and stable yields through drought and flood. Evaluation data shows that the quality of cultivated land in the high standard farmland project area can be improved by 1 to 2 levels, with an average increase in grain production capacity of 10% to 20% and an average increase in grain yield per mu of 100 kilograms, achieving "one season of one thousand kilograms, two seasons of tons of grain". In years of severe meteorological disasters, the stability of grain production capacity is significantly higher than that of non project areas. As of the end of last year, 800 million acres of high standard farmland had been built nationwide, accounting for nearly 40% of the country's arable land area. Efforts should be made to strengthen the construction of high standard farmland and turn more "sky gazing fields" into "ton grain fields" in order to better consolidate and enhance the production capacity of food security.

Seeds are the "chips" of agriculture. To ensure food security and secure China's rice bowl, it is necessary to fight a good battle for the transformation of the seed industry. At present, the coverage rate of excellent crop varieties in China is over 96%, and rice, wheat, and soybeans are all independent varieties, achieving the main use of Chinese varieties in Chinese grain. At the same time, it should be noted that we still have shortcomings and weaknesses in some varieties, processes, and fields. Currently, China's seed industry has entered a new stage of development driven by independent innovation. We need to maintain the competitiveness of advantageous varieties such as rice and wheat, narrow the gap between corn and soybean varieties and international advanced levels, and accelerate the breeding of a few dependent varieties. At the same time, it is necessary to connect production, processing, sales, technical services and other links, promote the integration of industry, academia, research and application, integrate breeding and promotion, and improve the seed industry chain.

The fundamental way out for agriculture lies in modernization. To ensure food security and secure China's rice bowl, it is necessary to accelerate the transformation of agricultural development mode and promote agricultural modernization. On the one hand, we should guard the red line of arable land, build high standard farmland well, improve agricultural water conservancy, raise the level of modern seed industry, agricultural machinery and other technical equipment, and divide and construct the grain production functions well, truly implementing the strategy of storing grain in the ground and storing grain in technology. On the other hand, we should also promote the structural reform of the agricultural supply side. Utilize one's own advantages, seize the core competitiveness of grain, extend the grain industry chain, enhance the value chain, build the supply chain, continuously improve the quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of agriculture, and achieve the unity of food security and modern efficient agriculture.

A solid granary brings peace to the world. Ensuring national food security is an eternal issue, and this string cannot be loosened at any time. By embarking on a new journey, continuously consolidating the foundation of food security, continuously improving the ability to guarantee food supply, and firmly holding the initiative of food security in our own hands, we will definitely provide strong support for achieving new victories in building a socialist modernized country comprehensively. (Chang Qin)

(Source: People's Daily)