Extreme Weather Events will not Dent China's Grain Output

Extreme weather events, such as the severe drought in southwest China, a lingering chill in the northeast and frequent blizzards in the northwest, may possibly affect China's agricultural output this year. But experts believe that the country's food security can be guaranteed.

Our reporter Li Ningjing has more.

Reporter:

Li Chenggui, head of the Rural Policy Research Centre at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), says that he believes the negative impact of extreme weather conditions on agricultural production will be very limited.

"Extreme weather events are nothing new to us, and China has already got a pretty good coping mechanism. Last year's drought was far more severe than the drought this year, but we still achieved a hefty growth rate in grain production."

Li Chenggui lists some reassuring figures to show that there is no need to worry about China's food security.

"By the first half of 2009, China's grain reserves hit 470 billion tons, which accounts for nearly 50% of its total consumption. According to figures from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, if the ratio of grain reserves to total consumption is 17-18%, it is considered food security."

The expert adds that the government has already earmarked 500 million Yuan to cope with damages inflicted by the low temperatures in the past couple of months.

Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Administration has doubled its efforts to help farmers know about weather conditions well in advance, thus safeguarding a steady and high grain production rate.

Jiao Meiyan, an official with the Meteorological Administration, says farmers must have access to weather information in time to achieve the best results possible when it comes to farming.

"We've noticed the difficulties in accessing information via the internet for many farmers, so we've created a kind of information source which can channel the weather information to farmers via mobile phones. Meanwhile, we also use loudspeakers to spread information if needed."

Jiao Meiyan promises that more precise and focused weather forecasts will be delivered to farmers.

"We are working on setting up weather surveillance equipment inside the greenhouses, given that the weather forecast for greenhouses and fields in the open air is quite different. We must provide farmers with targeted weather information."

It is believed that with the concerted efforts and modern agriculture's resilience to extreme weather conditions, China's grain production will still be running at a relatively stable and high level.

For CRI, I'm Li Ningjing.