China's central government has started the process of setting more targeted goals in achieving high-quality farmland to help improve the country's agriculture practices and to further ensure food security.
According to China Daily, the State Council recently released a guideline that should encourage farmers to cultivate top-quality farmland by the end of 2020. The coverage could reach up to 53 million hectares.
Vice-minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Yu Xinrong, noted that top-notch farmland is necessary to ensure that China's overall grain output will increase the and food security in the country is on the highest possible level.
If the targets are achieved, the volume of high-standard farmland in the country is expected to reach up to 67 million hectares. The said measurements should be enough to secure over 500 billion kilograms of grains.
As part of the Chinese government's efforts in encouraging the cultivation of higher-quality farmland, certain regions will be chosen to develop better farming practices. There will be designated functional grain-growing spaces and protected areas for critical agricultural products that could be part of the country's top goods.
The guideline also stated that a big data platform will be established in line with its targets. The platform will help ensure monitor activities under the guideline and also assist in resource and control sharing.
While the government will continue to support farming practices in the Chinese agricultural sector, ministry spokesman Guang Defu reiterated that farmers should also share the responsibility of improving China's farming sector.
Guang encouraged farmers to continue playing "more active" roles in the goal of developing high-quality farmland. He added that the government will prioritize supporting poor regions and areas in the country where farming conditions are not as favorable as expected.
So far, the central government has provided total financial support of 85.9 trillion yuan for the purpose of constructing top-quality farmland. Industry experts are expecting the numbers to increase further in the coming years.
Meanwhile, China has been recognized as second in the top list of countries engaging in agricultural science. According to Xinhua, the Chines Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) praised the country's efforts in exploring possibilities under the segment.
While the United States is still on top of the ladder, China beat out Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and other major agricultural countries in resources, engineering, crops, livestock, and overall environment.
The study based its findings on 62 fields and research subjects. China also posted excellent growth in various segments such as agricultural produce-processing and veterinary medicine.
Industry experts believe Beijing's move of setting clear targets for high-quality farmland will further improve China's rankings in the coming years.
