China will secure crop production, develop the seed industry and strengthen farmland protection in 2021 to promote rural vitalization and accelerate agricultural and rural modernization, the country's agriculture minister said.

China will strive to ensure that crop output exceeds 650 billion kilograms this year in a bid to secure the nation's food supply, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian said.

To shore up the seed industry, China will commence research on core technologies, launch major projects for biological breeding, and set up pools of crop seeds and marine fish and livestock species, Tang said.

Read more: Why is rural vitalization so important to China's development?

In the 2021-2022 period, about 6.66 million hectares of high-standard farmland will be constructed each year, said Tang.

The ministry will also make efforts to modernize rural industrial and supply chains, stabilize the recovery of hog production, and improve the quality and safety of agricultural products, Tang added.

Read more: China's priorities for 2021 rural work: Rural revitalization and food security

Since all counties in China have just been delisted from the absolute poverty list, the Chinese government decided to set up a five-year transitional period to help consolidate all achievements. And after that, China will comprehensively promote rural revitalization, which according to officials, is a historic shift in the focus of the work related to agriculture, rural areas and rural people.

Read more: China eliminates absolute poverty one month before self-imposed deadline

(With input from Xinhua)