BEIJING: President Xi Jinping underscored the need to diversify China’s food production and build up the seed industry during his first domestic fact-finding trip this year, a move analysts said will help guarantee the nation’s food security and put food that is more nutritious on the tables of Chinese people.
Such a strong emphasis is crucial, as geopolitical risks hover over the global food trade and people’s higher living standards are driving demand for greater food variety and improved nutrition, they said. During his four-day trip to Guangdong province last week, Xi visited a mariculture base in Zhanjiang, inspecting advances in fish farming methods and speaking with researchers and fish farmers.
Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, expounded on the need to adopt an all-encompassing approach to food production to ensure the food security of China, the world’s second-largest economy with a population of over 1.4 billion. He called for parallel efforts to bolster land-based agricultural production and take advantage of marine resources, highlighting the imperative to strengthen marine farming, develop sea-ranching and build “blue breadbaskets”. He also highlighted that the seed industry is the foundation for the development of modern agriculture and fisheries, calling for meticulous efforts to ensure its sound development. It is imperative to vigorously develop deep-sea aquaculture equipment and smart fisheries, and boost the transformation of marine fisheries into an information-based, intelligent and modern industry, he said.
Chen Songlin, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief scientist with the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, said he was excited to learn about Xi’s trip to the mariculture base, a key project for fish seed production under a national high-tech development plan known as the 863 Program.
–The Daily Mail-China
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