China sets food security as top priority for 2014

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Publish time: 22nd January, 2014      Source: www.cnchemicals.com
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January 22, 2014

   

   

China sets food security as top priority for 2014

   
   
   

The Chinese government has released the Number One Document setting the priorities for 2014 to improve the rural environment and maintain foodsecurity, said Xinhua news agency.

   

   

The document proposed a new market-oriented pricing plan for China''s grain products, which is said to help improve the pricing system for agricultural products while protecting farmers'' interests.

   

   

"Under the new pricing system, the government would establish prices for different products while leaving room for farmers to make a profit," said Li Guoxiang, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

   

   

According to the document, the Chinese government would gradually modify grain prices and provide subsidies to farmers based on differences in market prices.

   

   

The Chinese government currently sets minimum prices for some grain products and assigns certain buyers to purchase. Though farmers are benefited from the system, the measure distorts market prices, while large grain companies have become overly reliant on public funding.

   

   

"The government has to offer subsidies to carry on the current pricing plan and the weakness is that those buyers usually rely on the fiscal budget to operate," said Li.

   

   

The document also proposes to improve the rural environment, as China faces severe environmental problems caused by industrial contamination of water and soil, as well as the overuse of pesticides and fertiliser. The fight against rural pollution is part of the Chinese government''s efforts to ensure that the country will have enough farmland, water and rural labour to feed a growing urban population.

   

   

Rapid urbanisation has boosted incomes of the Chinese population. However, a dwindling rural labour force is a pressing issue for the country, as pressure is mounting that domestic food production will not able to keep up and china will have to increasingly rely on imports to feed the largest population.