China's agriculture seen solid improvements, further work still needed

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China's State Council Information Office has just held a press conference with the Minister of Agriculture, Sun Zhengcai. He spoke about China's agricultural achievements and rural development since the founding of the People's Republic.

Particularly since China's policy of reform and opening up that was adopted in 1978, China has witnessed dramatically improved agricultural production. This has contributed to solving the problem of domestic food security by relying on the country's own efforts. China's farm production has progressed from long-term shortages to a general balance with some surplus in good harvest years.

China has stepped up the restructuring of its agriculture system. It has transformed traditional agricultural methods by using advanced technology to improve farmland output capacity. Meanwhile, it has also been readjusting the rural economic structure by vigorously developing secondary and tertiary industries to upgrade the overall performance of agriculture.

As a result of these measures, the quality of farm produce has seen solid improvements. The development has played an important role in securing the supply of farm produce and increasing farmers' income.

Sun Zhengcai, Minister of Agriculture, said, "Despite the global financial crisis and a rare drought this summer, the country saw a good harvest of summer grain. The income of farmers is increasing steadily, too. This is significant for promoting consumption and domestic demand."