BEIJING — China will take stronger measures to improve its food and agricultural systems to make them more environmentally efficient and beneficial to rural people, an agricultural official said on Jan 20.

The country will endeavor to ensure food security, promote agricultural carbon emission reduction, and consolidate poverty alleviation results through rural vitalization, said Xie Jianmin, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Xie made the remarks at a press conference on the release of the Rural Development Report 2021, which is jointly launched by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the China Center for Agricultural Policy of Peking University.

While highlighting the significance of transforming food systems for rural prosperity, the report described the issues that affect the sustainability of food systems and provided recommendations.

It highlighted investments and policy changes on rural food value chains to make adequate and nutritious food accessible to all, said Jyotsna Puri, IFAD's associate vice-president of the strategy and knowledge department.