Grain harvests 'can't be taken for granted'

Affected by three decades of rapid industrial growth, about 3.3 million hectares of farmland is contaminated at medium to high levels. This land accounts for almost 3 percent of the country's total crop area, according to data from the Ministry of Land and Resources.

"Local governments will be ordered to protect water sources - including rivers, lakes, reservoirs and underground water - from heavy industrial facilities," Chen said. The local governments' efforts will be monitored.

Chen said because wetlands are helpful for water purification and flood control, farming on wetlands will be halted.

Wetlands account for only 3.77 percent of the nation's total area, much lower than the world average, and urbanization and a growing population have made inroads into even this meager area.

China's main manufacturing and grain-producing provinces are all located in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. That's problematic for grain output, since provinces such as Zhejiang and Guangdong have shifted away from agriculture, pushing many young people into higher-paid factory work. These provinces remain heavy grain consumers.

Chen said that to ensure the nation's grain security, the central government won't allow these provinces to further reduce their farming areas.

China now has 13 major grain-producing provinces that grow more than 75 percent of the country's rice, wheat and corn, including Jiangxi, Hunan, Anhui, Heilongjiang and Jilin.

This year, the nation's first policy document was a series of guidelines for agricultural development. That's been the case for 11 consecutive years.

This year's document emphasized that capable provinces must continue to boost their grain productivity by using advanced farming technology, building distribution networks and enhancing financial support to farmers, agriculture and rural areas.

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