Gu Shengzu, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), recently led a team to visit the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) for survey on the supply of important agricultural products and food security.

The team did an on-site survey of the National Crop Germplasm Resource Bank and also held a seminar with experts to exchange ideas on many issues, including the global economic situation, the supply of important agricultural products, and food security.

In his speech, Gu hailed it as a remarkable achievement for China to feed one-fifth of the global population with nine percent of the world's arable land and six percent of its freshwater resources. He said the country generally enjoys an ample supply of major agricultural products but the demand-supply balance will remain tight in the long term and structural problems will persist.

Gu called for efforts to analyze the impact of the current international situation on China's agricultural development and food security, enhance top-level design, and modernize the governance system and capacity for food security.

He said it's fundamental to strictly regulate the use of arable land to curb non-agricultural activities on farmland or non-grain crop cultivation.

Efforts should also be made to promote the application of technologies and ensure seed industry technology is self-reliant and germplasm resources are independent and controllable, according to Gu.

He also stressed measures to coordinate the government and market moves to help farmers increase grain production, advocate green and low-carbon agricultural practices, and cut food waste.