Food security action plan goes with the grain

Jin Ding/China Daily China has initiated a new round of action to significantly increase its grain output in the coming years, in its latest effort to ensure food security. According to an action plan published by the State Council, China's Cabinet, the country aims to boost its grain production capacity by over 50 million tonnes by 2030. At the same time, the plan also focuses on key areas and weak links in grain production, and the planning and implementation of some key projects in 720 crucial grain producing counties, including agricultural water saving, high-standard farmland construction, seed industry revitalization, increased grain yield, sustainable farming, agricultural mechanization enhancement, improvement of the agricultural disaster prevention and reduction mechanisms, comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land and the bolstering of grain processing, warehousing and logistics capabilities. By raising funds through multiple channels and rationally implementing the plan, the country is expected to effectively improve farmland water conservancy and the nation's agricultural infrastructure conditions, speed up the remedying of shortcomings such as technological innovation in the seed industry, and enhance its comprehensive grain production capacity. Although China has been trying to diversify the sources of its imports of food, the rising protectionism in many major grain exporting countries, the bloc confrontation some major countries are instigating targeting China, the influences of such regional hotspot issues as the Ukraine crisis and the tensions in the Red Sea, as well as the increasing impacts of extreme weather are all practical factors spurring the country to strive to increase its own grain output to ensure national food security.