BEIJING — China will build at least 80 million mu (5.33 million hectares) of high-standard farmland this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Feb 17.

China has started building drought and flood resistant farmland since 2011, in a bid to ensure food security. By the end of 2018, China has already developed 640 million mu of such farmland, with grain output increasing 100 kg per mu on average.

Water, fertilizer, and pesticide consumption on the farmland fell 24.3 percent, 13.8 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively, per mu.

The construction of more high-output fields, coupled with higher agricultural mechanization levels and improved varieties of crops, will help ensure China has an advantageous position in the global grain market, said Zhang Xiaoshan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

China aims to develop 800 million mu of high-standard farmland by 2020, and 1 billion by 2022.

Currently, two-thirds of China’s arable land consists of medium- and low-yield fields. Half of the arable land lacks irrigation facilities.