Official: China's autumn grain production areas show steady growth in 2024

China's production areas for autumn grain harvest have shown steady increases, with overall crop growth at "normal levels", an agricultural official said on Wednesday.

Autumn grain production is the lion's share of the annual grain output in China, at three-quarters of the full-year output.

With multiple grain-producing regions suffering from droughts or floods, Han Jun, Party chief of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, stressed the need for prompt relief measures to mitigate the impact on autumn harvests.

Many technicians and agricultural officials have been sent to villages to provide precise and targeted services for farmers, Han said.

Guaranteeing food security has been high on China's agenda. An array of measures has been rolled out to improve grain output over the past years, including building more high-standard farmland and promoting agricultural technologies.

This year's summer grain output totaled 149.78 million tonnes, hitting a new high. The full-year figure remained above 650 million tonnes for the ninth straight year in 2023.

In 2023, the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress exceeded 63 percent, an increase of 10 percentage points over 2012.

In particular, more energy has been directed toward soybean production, resulting in its self-sufficiency ratio increasing by nearly 4 percentage points over the past two years, Han said, adding that there has been an abundant supply of a wide range of farm produce, including meat, fruit and tea.

When asked about the agricultural and rural reform, Han said that the recently concluded third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee has emphasized the importance of integrated urban-rural development, especially consolidating and improving the basic rural operation system.

China will move forward with well organized trials to extend rural land contracts by another 30 years upon the expiration of the second-round contracts, while ensure that farmers enjoy more adequate property rights and interests.

(With input from Xinhua)