Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua made an inspection visit to North China's Inner Mongolia region's autumn grain production on Aug 19, calling for solid efforts to prevent disasters and ensure the autumn grain harvest, providing strong support for overall economic and social development.

Hu is a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region is the country's major grain producing area and scale grain transfer province.

In the fields, scientific research institutions, and agricultural science and technology park, Hu checked the growth of autumn grain such as corn and rice, and the implementation of disaster prevention measures, and had in-depth exchanges with farmers, scientific and technological personnel, and heads of enterprises.

Autumn grain output accounts for more than 70 percent of the annual grain output, and is the key to meeting the annual grain harvest target, Hu said, and urged efforts to strengthen technical guidance according to crop growth and meteorological conditions, in trying to raise the per-unit yield.

Warehousing facilities should be prepared to ensure grain storage, and meteorological disasters, as well as major pests and diseases, should be prevented to minimize losses, the vice-premier said.

Hu listened to a report about the convergence of consolidating the results of poverty alleviation work and rural revitalization.

He urged efforts to develop industries with distinctive local features and advantages to promote rural development and prevent returning to poverty.

East-west collaboration and designated assistance from central government units should be given full play in promoting the development of poverty-stricken areas and improving people's lives, he stressed.