Grain supply concern amid fast urbanization: report

BEIJING - China needs to take measures to ease tightening grain supply as more rural farmers switch to non-agricultural jobs in the cities, a report released Tuesday warned.

The Annual Report on China's Urban-Rural Integration 2012, released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said "As a great number of rural labor forces are moving to cities and industrial sectors, inadequate labor force is gradually becoming a key factor hindering the country's grain output".

It continued, "It's a pressing task to solve 'who will farm and grow grains'."

Official figures show that China's grain output in 2012 rose 3.2 percent year on year to hit 589.57 million tonnes. However, the country faces a tightening grain supply amid the increasing demand driven by population growth.

According to the report, cities and various industries are now "in an increasingly obvious conflict" with grain production concerning land as industrialization and urbanization are progressing speedily.

The report noted that ensuring grain safety is the most important mission for the stability of a nation, and as a large country, China must resort to domestic means to ensure the supply of agricultural products.

The report urged the country to pay equal attention to the quality of farm produce, as it directly affects consumers' health, as well as the interests of the agricultural industry and farmers.

In December at a rural work conference, Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu said China has increased its imports of farm produce to meet domestic needs and plans to encourage more industrial and commercial enterprises to invest in agriculture.