BEIJING (Reuters) – China has announced a 10-year plan to build an agricultural powerhouse, aiming for stable grain production and a more secure food supply by 2035.
The plan, reported by state media Xinhua, outlines several key strategies to enhance food security, modernize agriculture, drive technological innovation, and promote rural revitalisation.
By 2027, China aims to achieve a grain output capacity of around 700 million metric tons, strengthen self-sufficiency in key crops, make breakthroughs in agricultural technologies like seeds and machinery, and boost global competitiveness, according to the plan.
This initiative comes amid escalating tensions with the United States, an economic slowdown, and challenges posed by climate change.
Heavily reliant on food imports from Brazil and the U.S., China is working to diversify import sources and increase domestic production.
In 2024, China set a record for grain production, surpassing 700 million metric tons, reflecting the success of these efforts.
The plan includes improving the production of key agricultural products and accelerating the construction of national food security industrial belts.
It aims to stabilise rice and wheat production, develop root vegetables and mixed grains suited to local conditions, and tap into the production potential of oilseeds like rapeseed and peanuts, while expanding oil sources from oil tea and animal fats.
It also focuses on biotech projects, such as cultivating high-oil and high-yield soybeans, salt-alkali-tolerant crops, and other varieties.
To accelerate agricultural innovation, China will strengthen national agricultural science and technology capabilities, support fundamental research, and foster leading agricultural technology enterprises.
To further enhance food security, China will focus on the high-quality development of its hog industry, improve the competitiveness of the dairy sector, and implement measures to raise the quality of beef and mutton.
China’s meat market is currently grappling with oversupply and weak demand amid a slowing economy. The government has been intensifying efforts to stabilise the sector and improve market conditions.
(Reporting by Ella Cao and Lewis Jackson; Editing by David Goodman and David Evans)
