Minister Sun Dongwei proposes boosting China’s peanut industry as an essential part of rural revitalization and increasing agricultural income
China is looking out to stabilize grain output and advance rural revitalization by promoting the production of oilseed crops and fostering rural industries with local features to create more channels for increasing rural income.
During China’s two sessions (annual meetings held by National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) separately), Sun Dongwei, the member of the 14th NPC and the secretary of the CCP and chairman of Shandong Luhua Group, made a proposal that China should strive to develop the peanut industry and improve grain and oil safety and security.
China has secured the excellent harvest for 19 consecutive years with a total grain output of 650 million tons, but the grain industry still has structural problems. To develop the domestic oil industry, China is unleashing the growth potential of oilseeds.
“As an old oilseed crop in China with wide planting areas, mature cultivation technology, leading processing technology, a solid consumer base and a controllable domestic value chain, the peanut is a strong substitute for the imported soybeans. Therefore, it should be included in the national grain security industry revitalization plan as soon as possible and given policy support throughout the whole value chain from base, breeding, planting, storage and transportation to processing” proposes Minister Sun Dongwei.
“While continuing to expand the planting area of soybean and making efforts to boost its yield, China should also step up the peanut industry to achieve a more diversified oilseed supply,” he added.
Sun also proposed that the government should give more subsidy for promotion of improved varieties on the policy level to increase both output and income; set up the core growing region in areas suitable for peanut planting. To fully utilize the excellent ecological resources in Xinjiang province, he proposed to rotate peanuts with cotton along with launching pilot projects to train farmers on farm technology.
In a nut shell, as per the proposal the peanut industry in China, with policy guarantee and industrialization can beef up the whole value chain from breeding, planting and storage to transportation, processing and sales, will bolster rural revitalization and make contributions to domestic grain and oil safety and security.
