China has set a goal for higher grain yields by 2030 – a necessity only likely to grow more acute as its stock of arable land has stagnated and the global food market has become more volatile.
Holding a small share of the world’s arable soil, as well as one of the planet’s largest populations, China has had to cultivate lands previously thought inhospitable to increase crop yields.
Reeling from one storm and bracing for another, farmers in China’s top grain-producing region have appeared on social media begging for help protecting their crops, including rice, as food-security drive faces challenges.
Beijing says it is trying to ‘mobilise the public’ in a bid to exterminate the ‘rats’ and ‘moths’ – corrupt officials who put grain reserves and the nation’s food security at risk.
Tropical Hainan province’s first major durian harvest reflects challenges facing Chinese growers as they rush to cash in on surging domestic demand, and large-scale cultivation is still years away.