2016年CRI China's Food Security Issue is ＂Strategic＂: Agriculture Minister

 

Han Changfu said that food security is always a major issue in China, a country with a population of 1.3 billion people.

He pledged that authorities will keep the "zero-tolerance" attitude towards food security issues and will spare no efforts to solve problems no matter how minor¹ they are.

"In a word, we will keep maintaining a tough stance on both production and the supervision² procedures, in a bid to ensure that people consume quality-assured food. We should not only eat well but also safe."

To that end, he put forward several measures on the issue including a tough crackdown on illegal food additives³ as well as substandard pesticide⁴ residues⁵.

In addition, some of the most hazardous⁶ pesticides⁷ will be purchased under a real name system starting from this year.

The country's demand for food will still remain high in the long run as the population further increases with the ending of the one-child policy, as urbanization is progressing and as the country's consumption structure is changing.

China's grain output reached over 620 million tons in 2015. The figure has increased for 12 consecutive⁸ years.

However, about one-fifth of the country's grain output last year was actually imported grains, amounting to around 120 million tons.

Han explained that the large amount of grain imports resulted from structural⁹ demand and price competition.

"Grain from foreign countries is indeed cheaper than ours, much cheaper. The scale of our agriculture is small and the cost is high. So we don't have any advantage in grain prices. For that reason, we've imported a large amount of grain."

He added that China will not seek a consecutive increase in grain output during the next 5 years, but authorities will consolidate¹⁰ and improve grain output capacity.

The minister also says that concrete methods will be taken to improve China's soil quality, as intensive farming in certain Southern regions has left the soil more vulnerable to pests and diseases.

"First, we will control the input¹¹ to the soil. Second, we will treat contaminated soil. The Agriculture Ministry¹², Ministry of Finance and Hunan Provincial¹³ Government are taking collective measures to treat heavy metal-polluted soil. Third, farms should let the crops lie fallow and plant in rotation¹⁴ to reduce the pressure on the soil."

Addressing the issue of Sino-Russia agricultural cooperation, Han said China encourages more enterprises to invest in Russia's Far East region.

The cooperation could be deepened by enlarging bilateral¹⁵ trade as well as enhancing research on agricultural science and technology.

"The two sides could launch joint¹⁶ scientific research, promote more exchanges on achievements and technology, as well as train more professionals from the other side. We expect more cooperation as long as it's beneficial for bilateral agricultural development and helpful to both peoples."

Responding to queries¹⁷ about Sino-U.S. farm produce trade, Han said the world's two biggest economies also have sound cooperation with mutual¹⁸ benefits in this area.

Last year about 25 percent of soybeans made in the U.S. were exported to the Chinese market, most of them genetically¹⁹ modified.

He notes that safety checks have been conducted by the two sides.

For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

3 additives   

n.添加剂( additive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• chemical additives in petrol 汽油中的化学添加剂
• It'says on the packet that these crisps contain no additives. 包装上说这些炸薯片不含添加剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

5 residues   

n.剩余，余渣( residue的名词复数 )；剩余财产；剩数

参考例句：

• pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables 残留在水果和蔬菜中的杀虫剂
• All organic and metallic residues on the wafers must be removed. 片子上所有的有机和金属残留物均必须清除。 来自辞典例句

6 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

7 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

9 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

11 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

14 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

15 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

19 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物