The "sickle bend" area will reduce corn by 50 million mu

On November 2, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Adjustment of Corn Structure in the 'Sickle Bend' Region", which will adjust the corn structure in China.

Influenced by factors such as slowing growth of domestic consumption demand and import impact of substitute products, corn supply exceeds demand at present, inventory increases greatly and planting benefit decreases. According to the corn supply and demand situation and the actual production development, it is urgent to further optimize the planting structure and regional layout, so as to enhance the agricultural benefit and sustainable development capacity.

The so-called "sickle bend" area, including the northeast cold area, the north pastoral area, the northwest sand arid area, the Taihang Mountain area and the southwest rocky desertification area, presents a sickle bend distribution from northeast to north China-southwest-northwest in the topographic map, which is the key area for corn structure adjustment. This area is a typical dry farming area and an advantage area for animal husbandry development, with fragile ecological environment and low and unstable maize yield.

The opinion puts forward that by 2020, the corn planting area in the "sickle bend" area will be stable at 100 million mu, which is more than 50 million mu less than the current one, focusing on the development of silage corn, soybean, high-quality forage grass, miscellaneous grains and beans, spring wheat, economic forest fruit and ecological functional plants.

The opinions made clear the key regional characteristics and main attack direction of corn structural adjustment in the "sickle bend" area. Among them, in view of the rocky desertification area in southwest China (with Yungui Plateau as the main body, including Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces (regions)), corn planting on hillside land and areas lacking irrigation guarantee will be reduced in combination with the implementation of the national policy of returning farmland to forest and grassland, coarse cereals, beans, tea leaves, walnuts, camellia oleifera, traditional Chinese medicinal materials, etc. will be actively developed, grass hills and grass slopes will be improved, and hemp, mulberry and oil beans for feed and artificial grassland will be developed to support the development of local herbivorous animal husbandry. Strive to reduce 5 million mu of corn by 2020.