China hopes to cut corn acreage in northern areas of the country by roughly 8.2 million acres and switch them to other crops by the year 2020, according to its agriculture ministry. It is reported that, this year alone, around 1.6 million acres are expected to be cut in areas deemed unsuitable for corn growing. The ministry says it will instead focus on stabilizing corn production in the major growing areas. Last year, the country planted 94.2 million acres to corn. China plans to set aside funding to encourage farmers in arid areas to shift to silage corn and alfalfa, while corn belt areas will be pushed to return to rotations with soybeans.
A Chinese agriculture official said the country will focus on boosting domestic soybean production for human consumption. Neither self-sufficiency nor lowering soybean imports are goals of the program.
Source: NAFB News Service