After seven consecutive years of increased food production, Chinese farmers intend to increase the area of grain fields by 1.2 percent from the 2010 level, according to a national planting intention survey released by the Ministry of Agriculture.
It would be the second-largest expansion in grain-growing areas in five years, following an increase of only 2.1 percent in 2009, agricultural analysts said on Thursday.
The expansion will help stabilize rising food prices and rein in the high inflation rate in both the domestic and international markets, they said.
Hu Bingchuan, a researcher at the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, credited the government's efforts to encourage grain farmers.
"Though the farmers' intention may not necessarily turn into reality, it does reflect their increasing interest," he said.
The area devoted to rice crops may gain by 1.9 percent year-on-year, while that of wheat remains comparatively unchanged, according to the results of the survey posted by the ministry on its website on Tuesday.
The area for cornfields may increase by 2.1 percent year-on-year, and cotton fields by 5.4 percent, the survey showed.
Meanwhile, the area devoted to the soybean crop is estimated to decline by 11.2 percent from last year, the ministry said.
Agricultural Minister Han Changfu said on March 10 that the country is aiming for an eighth consecutive year of increased agricultural production in 2011, and to keep food-price increases to a "moderate and steady pace".
In February, the government raised the minimum purchasing price for wheat by 6 percent year-on-year. The government purchasing price for three kinds of rice has also increased by more than 10 percent on average.
