China News Service, March 1. According to the official website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs recently issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the National Forage Industry Development Plan" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan").
According to preliminary estimates, to ensure the self-sufficiency rate of beef, mutton and milk, the total demand for high-quality forage grass will exceed 120 million tons, and there is still a gap of nearly 50 million tons.
With the in-depth implementation of the "Planning", the gap of high-quality forages such as alfalfa and whole-plant silage corn will continue to narrow, providing a strong guarantee for enhancing the supply of grass-fed animal products.
The person in charge of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that the "Plan" is the first special plan for the development of the national forage industry.
The special preparation of this plan is mainly based on three considerations.
First of all, the preparation and implementation of the "Plan" is an urgent need to consolidate the foundation of national food security.
This year's Central No. 1 document clearly stated that the bottom line of ensuring national food security should be firmly adhered to.
At present, the main pressure of food security lies in feed grains. An important channel to promote the reduction of feed grains is to increase the supply of forage grass and reduce the consumption of concentrated feed for cattle and sheep breeding.
In 2021, the conversion of grain to feed will cover an area of more than 20 million mu, 55 million tons of high-quality forage grass will be purchased and stored, and 7.2 million tons of corn and soybean meal will be reduced in cattle and sheep breeding, which is equivalent to a reduction of 26 million mu of corn and soybean planting needs, saving arable land 6 million mu, realizing the effect of turning grass into food.
Secondly, the preparation and implementation of the "Plan" is an urgent need to speed up the supply of grass-fed animal products.
Over the past decade or so, the demand for beef, mutton and milk among Chinese residents has continued to grow rapidly, but the development of domestic production has lagged behind. One of the important reasons for this situation is the insufficient supply of forage grass, especially high-quality forage grass.
According to preliminary estimates, to ensure the self-sufficiency rate of beef, mutton and milk, the total demand for high-quality forage grass will exceed 120 million tons, and there is still a gap of nearly 50 million tons.
With the in-depth implementation of the "Planning", the gap of high-quality forages such as alfalfa and whole-plant silage corn will continue to narrow, providing a strong guarantee for enhancing the supply of grass-fed animal products.
Third, the preparation and implementation of the "Plan" is an urgent need to promote the high-quality development of the forage industry.
In recent years, driven by the market and supported by policies, the development of the forage industry has achieved initial results. However, due to the late start of the forage industry in my country and the imperfect production and operation system, the industrial development faces many difficulties and challenges, and it is urgent to strengthen top-level design.
Through the formulation and implementation of the "Plan", the development ideas and key tasks of the forage industry during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period are specially planned and designed, which will help to gather consensus inside and outside the industry, gather forces from all sides, and promote the high-quality development of the forage industry.
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