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Bumper crop ensures China’s food safety

JINAN: China’s agricultural authority has expressed confidence in the summer harvest, as farmers around the country have put over half the output in the granary with the rest to be cropped before the end of the month.

A Ministry of Agriculture official said major grain production areas are poised to sustain a bumper summer crop for the fifth year in a row, maintaining the rising momentum in grain production.

Summer crops, mainly rice and wheat, constitute 23 per cent of the country’s annual grain harvest. It has grown for four consecutive years to reach 501.5 million tonnes in 2007, almost level with the country’s annual consumption.

“The summer harvest, which comes amid global food crisis, reassures the world’s most populous country of its domestic food safety,” said Han Jun, head of the rural section of the State Council Development Research Center.

Farmers and agricultural experts here attribute the successive harvests to the government’s policy impetus for grain production.

The state’s protective purchase price and subsidy have been effective in encouraging farmers to grow grain, said Zeng Liying, State Administration of Grain deputy head.

Chinese farmers have no longer been worried about selling the grains, since the government began to set the purchase price in 2004. They can sell to the government via designated state-owned companies at a “protective price,” if the market price falls lower.

In adjusting the purchase price, the government took inflation into consideration, said Mr. Zeng. The purchase price was lifted by 2 per cent to 7 per cent in major grain production areas in May, based on the standard set in February.

Authorities also raised the agricultural subsidy, hoping to offset the rising cost of farming inputs.

The central government promised at the beginning of the year to spend 562.5 billion yuan to support farmers, 130.7 billion yuan more than that in 2007. In March, it said it would earmark another 25.3 billion yuan to boost grain production in particular.

Han Jun, an agricultural expert, said China did not make bulk imports of cereal during the past four years. The self-sufficiency policy for its colossal population is its huge contribution to the stability of the world’s food market. He said the policy impetus would continue to be the key to stimulate the enthusiasm for grain production amid the price rise.— Xinhua

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