BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — China plans to build more ecological farms in the coming years to advance modernization and green development in the agricultural sector, said a guideline published Wednesday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
China aims to build 1,000 national ecological farms and 10,000 local ones nationwide by 2025. They will be agriculture production and operation entities, targeting maximum sustainable output while seeking to match the resources, be environmentally friendly, and ensure food safety, it said.
The country also hopes to foster modern and efficient market entities, promote specific technical patterns, and explore and establish supportive policies related to ecological agriculture, noted the document.
The move would increase the supply of green and quality agricultural products while boosting the quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
According to a five-year plan on farming published last month, China will have made significant progress in the farming industry by 2025, boosting the capability of providing key farming produce and achieving green production.
In January 2022, China said it aims to establish a modern agricultural science and technology innovation system by 2025. This was set out in a development guideline prepared by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) for the 14th Five-Year Plan.
According to this guideline, the CAAS will strive to improve grain yield, soybean oil self-sufficiency, and the utilization rate of irrigation water, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. It will also reduce import dependence on crops, livestock, and poultry varieties.
The guideline focuses on major fields such as seeds, cultivated land, agricultural machinery, and bio-safety. It calls for boosting the construction of new key laboratories, grain crop science centers, molecular design breeding centers, national crop germplasm resource banks, livestock and poultry banks, and agricultural microorganism banks.
The guideline was released at the annual CAAS work conference. ■
Sources:
Xinhua, 2022-02-09. https://english.news.cn/20220209/d36dc0cb102d47e796e474529de3bb4a/c.html
Xinhua, 2022-01-12. http://www.china.org.cn/china/Off_the_Wire/2022-01/12/content_77985864.htm