Ding Shengjun: writing the Legend of World Food

Not long ago, the third APEC Agriculture and Food Ministers' meeting was held in Beijing for an in-depth exchange of experiences on agricultural development and food security in the Asia-Pacific region. Many people focused on the "ten consecutive increases" of total grain output created by China since 2004.

The topic of "self-support" in China is very hot in the international arena, with a lot of praise from relevant international organizations, but there are also some scholars who "sit back and talk about it" are biased. In the 1990s, Lester Brown, an American scholar, wrote a book "who will feed China", which once made the theory of "China grain threat" very popular. This year, Brown once again talked about the "China grain threat theory" and arbitrarily judged the "China grain grab theory", which was really unconvincing.

Fact speak louder than words. By means of independent development, peaceful development and cooperative development, China has continuously improved its people's adequate food and clothing and food structure, and its food nutrition level is among the highest in developing countries. China, which accounts for about 10% of the world's arable land, feeds the world's 1x5 population and has made a great contribution to the world's food security. In 2013, China imported more than 14 million tons of grain, accounting for less than 3 per cent of total domestic grain output, less than 5 per cent of global grain trade and only 60 per cent of Japan's grain imports.

Over the years, China's self-sufficiency rate of food rations has always been maintained at a high level of 97%, and residents' food rations are absolutely safe. Although China's grain imports have increased a lot in recent years, the overall import scale is still within a reasonable range. What is more, it should be pointed out that in recent years, international grain prices are relatively low, and Chinese grain enterprises import more grain, which is beneficial to both sides of the trade. The impact of China's limited imports on food prices in the international market is extremely weak. China does not rely on the international market to survive, let alone pose a "threat" to world food security.

China has the ability to ensure national food security. Since the beginning of the new century, China has taken a number of important measures: adhering to the strategic position of "top priority" of agricultural grain and strengthening a series of effective policies for benefiting agriculture; formulate and implement a new food security strategy of "giving priority to ourselves, gaining a foothold at home, ensuring production capacity, moderate import, and scientific and technological support" to ensure the absolute safety of food rations; take effective measures to permanently protect basic farmland and stick to the red line of farmland protection. Implement the "Grain Security Project", continue to improve the grain reserve system and enrich the quantity, improve the grain reserve structure, and improve the grain emergency plan; vigorously implement the strategy of "revitalizing agriculture through science and technology", give full play to the power of scientific and technological innovation, and improve the rate of land output and quality; expand food resources, vigorously develop modern animal husbandry, modern aquaculture and "blue economy", and open up woody grain and oil resources with great potential. We will carry out "grain conservation and impairment" activities throughout the country, and so on. These measures fully prove that Chinese self-sufficiency is fully conditional and guaranteed.

It is recognized by the world that China is an important stabilizing force and positive safeguard force for world food security. Many international agricultural experts believe that China's continuous increase in grain production is a "world grain legend." The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations believes that China has made a decisive contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development goals ahead of schedule. The World Food Program highly recognizes China's shift in role from a food recipient many years ago to one of the most important countries providing food aid to the world today.

Right and wrong have their own judgments, and the non-existent "China grain threat theory" is just a prejudice that cannot be justified.

(the writer is the executive director of China Grain Economic Association)