Xing Huina:

Due to time constraints, we will take one last question.

Jiupai News:

What are the reasons for the increase in China's total grain output in 2024 compared with the previous year? Could you introduce the relevant data? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

Thank you for your questions. Achieving another bumper grain harvest this year has been no easy feat. In 2024, China's grain output reached 1.41 trillion jin, an increase of 222 billion jin, or 1.6% compared with the previous year. After nine consecutive years of maintaining a stable output above 1.3 trillion jin, China has for the first time surpassed the 1.4 trillion jin mark. There are three main factors behind this year's bumper harvest in grain production:

First, policy support has taken effect. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to grain production, and introduced a series of policies to boost agriculture, benefit farmers and increase rural prosperity. These measures include raising the minimum purchase prices for wheat and early indica rice, stabilizing subsidies for soil fertility conservation, corn and soybean producers, and rice, expanding the coverage of full cost insurance and planting income insurance, improving the mechanism for ensuring the provision of agricultural supplies at stable prices, and optimizing the mechanisms for ensuring the interests of grain farmers. These comprehensive measures aimed to boost farmers' enthusiasm for growing crops and stabilize sown areas. In 2024, the total sown area of grain crops nationwide reached 1.79 billion mu, an increase of 0.3% compared to the previous year, maintaining growth for five consecutive years.

Second, the "sustainable and technological" strategy of food security has been thoroughly implemented. All regions have thoroughly implemented the strategy of sustainable farmland use and innovative application of agricultural technology for national food security, continued to advance the construction of high-standard farmland, and deepened the campaign to increase per unit crop yield on a large scale. By promoting technologies such as reasonable high-density planting, integrated water and fertilizer management, "spraying once to prevent diseases and pests, dry and hot winds, and collapses," as well as "spraying once to promote growth," they have effectively improved per unit grain yield. In addition, the meteorological conditions in most agricultural areas were generally favorable throughout the year, with a good combination of sunlight, temperatures and precipitation. In 2024, the average yield per mu reached 394.7 kilograms, up 1.3% year on year. The increase in yield per unit area contributed more than 80% to the increase in grain production.

Third, the responsibilities for grain production have been effectively fulfilled. We have ensured that both Party committees and governments assume responsibility for ensuring food security, all regions have continued to increase their support for food production through multiple measures, and therefore have achieved fruitful results. In 2024, 26 of the 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) increased production. In particular, major grain producing areas have had a significant effect, fully reflecting the requirement of "jointly supporting the rice bowls and taking on responsibilities."

On the whole, while some areas this year were hit by serious natural disasters, the annual grain production achieved another bumper harvest and the output reached a record high through the joint efforts from all over the country, laying a solid foundation for ensuring national food security and promoting all-round rural revitalization. Thank you.

Xing Huina:

Today's briefing is hereby concluded. Thank you to Mr. Fu for his introduction and to friends from the media. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Wang Ziteng, Liao Jiaxin, Zhang Rui, Chen Xinyan, Zhang Jiaqi, Liu Sitong, Gongyingchun, Zhang Tingting, David Ball, and Rochelle Beiersdorfer. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.