BEIJING — Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua on Feb 22 called for the successful completion of the third national soil survey to ensure food security.

Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a meeting in Beijing specifying the tasks of the survey.

Investigations into soil conditions nationwide should cover farmlands, gardens, woodlands and grasslands associated with agricultural production, as well as unused land that can be repurposed, the vice premier said.

Related departments should ensure the precision and authenticity of all survey data, Hu said, encouraging sci-tech research institutes to partake in the survey through their cutting-edge technologies and instruments.

The third national soil survey begins this year and is expected to be completed in 2025.