China to 'maintain self-sufficiency in food production'

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Despite an expected increase in the country's food imports, China will maintain self-sufficiency in its main food crops, including wheat and rice, in the coming decade, said an agricultural report released on Sunday.

The report, China Agricultural Outlook 2017-23, released by the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, predicts that China's annual output of three main crops - wheat, rice and corn - will hit 578 million metric tons in 2023, still keeping a high self-sufficiency rate.

By then, about 596 million tons of crops will be needed to feed the nation, data from the report showed. The United Nations has forecast that China's population will reach 1.4 billion by 2023.

"Chinese can hold the rice bowl in our own hands in the coming decade, due to the strong government policy support and technological innovation," Xu Shiwei, director-general of the institute, said at the 2017 China Agricultural Outlook Conference in Beijing on Sunday. The two-day conference attracted more than 400 domestic and overseas officials and experts.

Xu added that the central government's investment increased to more than 1.2 trillion yuan ($195 billion) in 2013, an average annual increase of 14 percent since 2003, and that the support policy will continue.

The nation's grain output exceeded 602 million tons in 2013, the 10th consecutive year of increased grain harvests, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The strong government support and investment will help maintain the trend, the report said.

"The top priority in the future is to guarantee full self-sufficiency in wheat and rice," Vice-Minister of Agriculture Chen Xiaohua said at the conference.

Chen emphasized that agricultural technology innovation and mechanization will further increase farm output in China.

Questions:

1. What is the name of the report issued Sunday by the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences?

2. How many tons of the three main crops will be needed to feed the nation by 2023?

3. What was the nation's grain output in 2013?

Answers:

1. China Agricultural Outlook 2017-23.

2. 596 million tons.

3. It exceeded 602 million tons.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.