The Hindu Business Line : China plans to raise grains output

China's farm plan emphasises the need to curb the widening disparity between rural and urban areas. Annual grain production that totalled 484 million tonnes in 2005 to increase to 500 mt by 2010

Mumbai , Sept. 10

There could be something for Indian policymakers to learn from what China is doing to strengthen its agricultural sector.

China is already the world's largest producer of farm goods and also a very large importer of agricultural commodities, including grains, cotton, sugar, oilseeds and vegetable oil.

Given its massive foreign exchange reserves ($800 billion and counting) and positive trade balance, the country can very well afford to import more.

Yet, China is keen to meet, as far as possible, its food needs through domestic sources.

Indigenous efforts to ensure food security, steady growth in farm output, raising yields and higher per capita incomes for farmers are some of the key elements of the Asian giant's farm policy. On August 3, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture published its five-year plan for agricultural development up to the year 2010. The ministry reiterated the nation's policy of relying on domestic efforts to guarantee food security, stating that there must be `steady growth' in the production of grain and other major farm produce. Annual grain production that totalled 484 million tonnes in 2005 is planned to increase to 500 mt by 2010, a quantity that is regarded as the minimum necessary to feed China's people.

Despite reduced availability of agricultural land, China is determined to achieve the level of grain output. Arable land areas are predicted to shrink by 0.18 per cent annually to 103.3 million hectares. In order to reach the production target, yields will have to increase through the implementation of high-quality grain production projects and advances in farming technology and control of plant diseases.

China's farm plan emphasises the need to curb the widening disparity between rural and urban areas by developing commercial farming and urban migration. Every year, rural enterprises will aim to create 2.5 million jobs, while five million farmers will find new jobs in the cities. Farmers' per capita income is forecast to grow by at least 5 per cent a year to reach 4,150 yuan ($520) in 2010.

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