China expects bumper harvest in 2021-Ministry

China has laid a foundation to secure another bumper grain harvest this year in spite of major floods in the central province of Henan.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Friday, China as a whole has seen less severe disasters than last year and the country’s autumn grain is growing well.

The data of the ministry showed that more than 4.2 million hectares of crops were affected by disasters in China over the first seven months.

The data also said that this was much less than the average level in the same period of the past five years.

The ministry noted that out of over five million hectares of autumn grain in Henan, more than four hectares that were not affected by the disasters have grown better than usual years.

According to the ministry, China has basically finished the sowing of autumn grain and the total area of the grain is expected to top 86 million hectares in 2021, up from the previous year with increase in corn.

The ministry said it would strengthen disaster relief, prevention and control of crop diseases and pests to mitigate the impact of disasters and ensure annual grain output of above 650 billion kilograms.

Home to China’s main producing areas of winter wheat and summer corn, Henan is an important agricultural province.

The latest downpours since mid-July in the province had affected 13.91 million people in 150 county-level regions as of Thursday noon.