Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua has called for greater efforts to meet the agricultural production goal for this spring to secure the whole year's harvest, at a national conference on agricultural production held on April 9 in Beijing.

Hu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed the importance of keeping grain planting area steady as the COVID-19 epidemic has impacted global agricultural production and supply.

He stressed efforts to step up spring sowing. Areas that are behind schedule should catch up as soon as possible, and places that have not started sowing should make preparations.

To make sure of the summer harvest, it is necessary to enhance pest control and meteorological disaster prevention, he added.

Efforts should also be made to quickly restore hog production, he said, calling on some southern provinces to step up prevention and control of African swine fever and other diseases.

For sufficient market supplies and stable prices, production of poultry, beef and mutton, aquatic products, fruits and vegetables should be guaranteed, he said.

He asked heads of local authorities and departments to fulfill their responsibilities, to ensure that policies and tasks are in place.