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China plans tech for breakthrough in alkali soil farming by 2030
The National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land, Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. /CMG
The National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land, Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. /CMG

The National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land, Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. /CMG

China has revealed a plan to break through the core technology for farming on alkali soil in 2030, which will enable the country's farmers to make good use of the unhealthy soil that occupied more than 500 million mu (333,333 square kilometers) of land.

A research center dedicated to the study of the farming tech was set up on Monday in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province, which will coordinate the work of research institutions, universities and enterprises to break through the tech.

The main work of the research is to breed new traits of plants with saline and alkali resistance.

A scientist examines plant seeds in the storage of the National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. /CMG
A scientist examines plant seeds in the storage of the National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. /CMG

A scientist examines plant seeds in the storage of the National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land in Dongying City, east China's Shandong Province. /CMG

The center, named National Technical Innovation Center for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline-Alkali Land, stores more than 20,000 kinds of seeds, which will be put into controlled environments to grow faster, according to a report from China Media Group (CMG).

Three-step process

The research center will take three steps to reach its goal. The first is to develop ground-breaking technologies related to soil improvement, fast soil fertilizing and more efficient use of water. This step is expected to be completed by 2025.

The second step is to obtain core technologies to make use of alkali soil by 2030 and incubate a batch of enterprises in this area.

The last step is to find sustainable way to apply the technologies and turn more than 185 million mu (123,333 square kilometers) of China's alkali soil into backup farmland.

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