October 16 is World Food Day, and across the Chinese mainland it's time to celebrate big wins in food security! 🌾🚜 This week also marks National Grain Security Publicity Week, shining a spotlight on remarkable harvests and smarter farming.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, over 60% of the autumn grain harvest is in the bag: nearly 70% of middle-season rice, 55% of corn and about 80% of soybeans. Thanks to policies from the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), China’s per-person grain availability now hits 500 kg—well above the 400 kg line used globally to define food security. That means staple foods are safe and self-sufficient.
Here’s the lowdown on how things got so solid:
- Annual output stays above 1.3 trillion jin (650 million tonnes), topping 1.4 trillion jin in 2024.
- 100 million hectares of high-standard farmland built, with 75% mechanization in crop cultivation.
- Seed coverage for major crops soars past 96%—powering fields from the northeast’s black soil to the Yangtze plains.
And it’s not just about big numbers—rural life is leveling up, too. A 4.64-million-kilometer road network now connects villages to markets and tourists, while greening projects in over 140,000 villages make the countryside shine. Plus, e-commerce and livestreaming give farmers fresh ways to sell their crops.
To top it off, rural residents’ average disposable income jumped from 17,131 yuan (≈$2,400) in 2020 to 23,119 yuan in 2024, growing nearly 8% each year. It’s a win-win: technology and policy combine to turn every grain into shared prosperity.
This World Food Day reminds us that secure, sustainable food systems start in the fields—and when farms thrive, communities flourish. 🌱✨
Reference(s):
China marks World Food Day with strong gains in food security
cgtn.com
