Vice Premier Liu Guozhong Demands Full Agricultural Safeguards for Autumn Harvest

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong conducted an inspection tour in Inner Mongolia from September 1 to 3, ordering local authorities to prioritize agricultural disaster prevention and ensure a bumper autumn harvest. Noting that autumn grain represents three-quarters of China's annual grain output, Liu called for targeted field management, emergency harvesting readiness, price stability for agricultural supplies, and early procurement plans. He also emphasized long-term capacity building, including high-standard farmland construction, black soil conservation, agricultural water-saving reforms, and the orderly extension of rural land contracts.

Autumn grain accounts for approximately 75 percent of China's total grain production, making it the decisive factor in annual food supply and rural stability. Amid increasing risks of extreme weather events across northern grain belts, central leaders are intensifying oversight to protect yields, stabilize agricultural input costs, and secure farmers' earnings to support wider macroeconomic stability.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong conducted an inspection tour in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from September 1 to 3, instructing agricultural departments and regional authorities to tighten disaster prevention measures and secure a bumper autumn harvest, according to state media reports published by Xinhua and People's Daily. Visiting fields, cooperatives, and agricultural service stations across Tongliao—including Horqin Left Middle Banner, Horqin District, Kailu County, and Horqin Left Rear Banner—Liu reviewed corn and soybean crop performance, per-unit yield enhancement projects, and local disaster prevention systems. He underscored that autumn crops account for three-quarters of the nation's total annual grain volume and warned that production is entering its decisive yield-formation phase. To safeguard output, Liu instructed local officials to adopt differentiated, science-based field management, applying yield-boosting techniques such as integrated foliar spraying. He emphasized disaster readiness, calling for enhanced meteorological tracking, early warning systems, timely scheduling of emergency farm machinery, and expanded capacity for emergency harvesting and grain drying. Liu also called for protecting farmers' economic returns by ensuring the supply and price stability of key agricultural inputs such as chemical fertilizer. He directed relevant agencies to formulate autumn grain purchasing and storage contingency plans well ahead of peak harvest. Beyond immediate seasonal tasks, the vice premier reviewed long-term structural initiatives, including high-standard farmland development, black soil conservation tillage, seed industry revitalization, and agricultural water conservation. Liu stressed the need to repair drainage ditches and treat flood-prone plains, while promoting precision farming techniques like shallow drip irrigation and integrated water-fertilizer systems. On rural land policy, Liu reaffirmed Beijing's guiding principle of 'major stability with minor adjustments,' urging steady, prudent implementation of pilot programs that extend second-round rural land contracts by an additional 30 years upon expiration.