Protecting farmland and promoting grain production are among the goals of a new food security law passed by China's National People's Standing Committee, China Daily reported.
China must "ensure absolute security of staple foods and basic self-sufficiency in grains," according to the law recently approved by China's top legislature. It will come into effect on June 1.
Despite the overall favorable food security situation, China, with 1.4 billion people and a growing demand for grain, faces multiple challenges, including limited and low-quality arable land and increasing difficulties in ensuring stable and more intensive grain production , said Justice Minister He Rang.
China is home to 20% of the world's population, while accounting for only 10% of the world's arable land, and despite having a stated goal of being self-sufficient in grain by 2032, the country has increased imports of corn, wheat, and soybeans twelvefold in the last five years.
China's total grain harvest reached more than 695 million tons in 2023, marking the ninth consecutive year of a grain harvest of more than 650 million tons, said Xiang Yang, an official from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee. According to him, the supply and demand for grain remains severely constrained.
One of the main concerns of the law is the protection of agricultural lands from development and urban encroachment to ensure adequate grain production. The law calls on the government to limit the taking of agricultural land and its use for other purposes, such as forests or pastures.
The law includes a number of measures to promote grain production, ensure higher incomes for grain producers, compensate for acreage, as well as develop new types of agribusiness, Young noted.
The regulation also has a chapter dedicated to food preservation, setting requirements for reducing food waste in various processes ranging from grain production to consumption.
The new legislation is important for moving forward in China's modernization because it has laid a solid legal foundation for advancing China's food security management system and capacity, said Wang Zhimin, a member of the Standing Committee.
China must "ensure absolute security of staple foods and basic self-sufficiency in grains," according to the law recently approved by China's top legislature. It will come into effect on June 1.
Despite the overall favorable food security situation, China, with 1.4 billion people and a growing demand for grain, faces multiple challenges, including limited and low-quality arable land and increasing difficulties in ensuring stable and more intensive grain production , said Justice Minister He Rang.
China is home to 20% of the world's population, while accounting for only 10% of the world's arable land, and despite having a stated goal of being self-sufficient in grain by 2032, the country has increased imports of corn, wheat, and soybeans twelvefold in the last five years.
China's total grain harvest reached more than 695 million tons in 2023, marking the ninth consecutive year of a grain harvest of more than 650 million tons, said Xiang Yang, an official from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee. According to him, the supply and demand for grain remains severely constrained.
One of the main concerns of the law is the protection of agricultural lands from development and urban encroachment to ensure adequate grain production. The law calls on the government to limit the taking of agricultural land and its use for other purposes, such as forests or pastures.
The law includes a number of measures to promote grain production, ensure higher incomes for grain producers, compensate for acreage, as well as develop new types of agribusiness, Young noted.
The regulation also has a chapter dedicated to food preservation, setting requirements for reducing food waste in various processes ranging from grain production to consumption.
The new legislation is important for moving forward in China's modernization because it has laid a solid legal foundation for advancing China's food security management system and capacity, said Wang Zhimin, a member of the Standing Committee.
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