BEIJING — The area of China's high-standard farmland will total 1.2 billion mu (about 80 million hectares) by 2030, an official said on Sept 16.

Farmland is a cornerstone of food security, and plays a crucial role in the ecosystem and green agricultural development, said Zhang Taolin, vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs, at a press briefing for a recently released guideline on farmland cultivation.

According to the guideline, 280 million mu of high-standard farmland will also be upgraded by 2030.

By the end of 2020, the country had developed 800 million mu of high-standard farmland, which helped increase grain production capacity by 10 percent to 20 percent per mu and save costs by 500 yuan (about $77.7) per mu, Zhang said.

To achieve the targets, the ministry will help local authorities improve agriculture infrastructure and ramp up disaster prevention and reduction on farmland, Zhang added.