Over The Past Five Years, Providing 1.4 Billion Chinese People With Safe And Secure Food Supplies
China’s State Council Information Office Monday held a press conference on the achievements made in agricultural and rural development during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period. Liu Huanxin, vice minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), Wu Hongyao, member of the CPC Leading Group of the MARA, and Wei Baigang, chief economist of the MARA, took questions from reporters.
According to the MARA, China has had over 72.5 million hectares of land for the grain production over the past five years, providing 1.4 billion Chinese people with safe and secure food supplies.
China’s grain output has exceeded 650 billion kilograms for six consecutive years, and the self-sufficiency rate of rice and wheat has been kept above 100 percent, and that of corn surpassed 95 percent, said Liu.
China’s production of meat, eggs, milk, fruits, vegetables and tea, has met the people’s growing consumption demands, Liu added.
The MARA also said the income of Chinese farmers have mostly increased over this period.
The per capita disposable income of rural residents exceeded 16,000 yuan ($2,385) in 2019, double that of 2010 and has been growing at a faster rate than urban residents for 10 years in a row, according to Liu.
In the first three quarters of 2020, the per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 12,297 yuan ($1,833), an increase of 1.6 percent in real terms, Liu added.
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities also noted the country’s industrial poverty relief policies have helped 98 percent of low-income families in impoverished areas.
“More than one million industrial poverty eradication projects have been implemented in poverty-stricken areas. And we’ve built more than 300,000 industrial poverty eradication bases across the country,” said Liu.
At the press conference held Tuesday in Beijing, officials of the MARA said China will stick to its rural revitalization strategy in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). The goal is to guarantee food security while boosting efforts to build a beautiful countryside.
This news was originally published at News CGTN