China to Tackle Climate Change Challenges to Agriculture

As climate change poses a great challgenge to China's agricultural sector, the government and farmers should tackle it in a scientific and systematic way, Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture Niu Dun said in an interview with Xinhua.

Climate change has posed great threats to the traditional farming sector, and extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, hailstorm, tropical storms, have ruined harvests far more often than before, Niu said.

He was in Berlin to attend the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, held during the 75th International Green Week in Berlin, the world's largest agricultural and food fair.

"The destructive power of climate change has reminded us of theneed to view the issue with a multi-dimensional perspective," he said. "We should tackle the challenges by renewing the agricultural system and continuously developing the country's economy."

The Chinese government would help farmers, herdsmen and fishermen create a sustainable mode of production by applying new technologies with lower costs and lower emissions, Niu said.

"The government will intensify investment of agricultural infrastructure and projects and impart more scientific knowledge and climate-friendly concepts to farmers," the vice-minister said.

"We want to build a comprehensive service system in the rural areas to offer multi-facet assistance to agriculture, such as providing peasants with quality seeds, machinery and advanced technologies," he said.

All these could help cut down losses caused by climate change and improve rural living standards, Niu said.