National advisers from the Chinese People’s
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said yesterday that there
are enough grain reserves to cover immediate needs, but the future
does not look bright in the long run.
Grain self-sufficiency is a key issue for a nation
with 1.3 billion people, whose food consumption is mainly
concentrated on grain products, said Duan Yingbi, CPPCC National
Committee member, during a press conference at the annual session
of the top advisory body.
"Judging from current figures, I think that in the
near future there won't be any problems with the food supply," said
Duan, also vice-chairman of the Economic Committee of the
CPPCC.
However, he added: "In the long term I don't think
we can be optimistic about the food situation due to the increased
population and consumption growth caused by improvements in living
standards."
"China's grain reserves at central and provincial
levels exceed the UN standard of 18 percent of its annual needs,"
said CPPCC member Nie Zhenbang, former director of the State Grain
Administration.
In grain harvests from 1996-99 output exceeded 500
billion kilograms, said Nie, adding that these enabled China to
greatly enrich its national and provincial grain depots.
The grain harvest peaked at 512 million tons in
1998, then declined due to bad weather and less land being
planted.
Duan said it is difficult to improve grain output
when such a situation is combined with greater industrialization
and urbanization.
Between 1996 and 2003, about 6.7 million fewer
hectares of farmland were planted, said CPPCC National Committee
member Hong Fuzeng.
Duan said that agricultural infrastructure in rural
areas is rather weak, which exacerbates the problem.
Furthermore, there is a lack of long-term policies
that encourage farmers and local governments to plant more
grain.
Despite these problems, Duan said he is "confident
that China can feed itself as long as farmers' enthusiasm for
growing grain can be mobilized."
He said grain output in 2004 increased by 38.3
billion kilograms thanks to preferential policies adopted by
central government.
To encourage farmers to grow more, the government
has ordered an end to farm taxes, boosted subsidies and promised to
spend more on irrigation and other infrastructure projects,
officials said.
"High-yield farmland in China can produce 1,000
kilograms of grain per mu (0.07 hectare), 20 times higher than
low-yield farmland," Hong said.
There is potential for significant increases in
grain output considering that low-yield farmland accounts for only
two thirds of the total, he said.
(China Daily March 7, 2005)