Team led by a group of Chinese researchers cloned a specific gene that is resistant to Asian soybean rust amid Beijing’s focus on food security and tech self-reliance.

A new type of rapeseed engineered in China can improve upon yields by 50 per cent, increasing the domestic harvest of edible oil and lessening the country’s reliance on imports.

Police in northern China have detained five people for allegedly colluding to steal about 10,000 tonnes of corn amid Beijing’s increasing focus on food security.

Though trade ties have taken a hit in other areas, the EU’s agriculture commissioner says a stronger relationship between China and Europe can and should exist in food and farming products.

Rainfall in the southwest province of Yunnan, which is one of China’s leading hydropower producers, fell by 42.3 per cent compared to normal levels this year.

Report on state broadcaster CCTV says last year two people working in the rare earths sector were jailed for 11 years or more for stealing state secrets.

China has set a goal for higher grain yields by 2030 – a necessity only likely to grow more acute as its stock of arable land has stagnated and the global food market has become more volatile.

CellX started life as a cultivated meat producer, but is now diversifying its product range to include fermentation, paving the way for a faster market launch

China is accelerating commercialisation of higher-yielding genetically modified (GM) crops as part of its efforts to improve agricultural efficiency amid Beijing’s food security push.

Avant Meats is expanding its lab-grown seafood production capacity amid growing popularity of sustainable seafood.

China’s largest-ever survey of germ plasma resources expanded the variety of crop germ plasma resources in the national resource repository by 21.4 per cent amid Beijing’s increasing focus on food security.

Trial project in Shenzhen cultivates high-value marine species, such as grouper, lobster and abalone, using cold energy from liquefied natural gas amid China’s push to reduce reliance on seafood imports.

Beijing has urged higher efficiency in land use after decades of rapid urbanisation, with signals that it could reform China’s rigid system to aid economic growth.

From top-level meetings to AI discussions and a shock investment discovery by the House, here are a few highlights from the SCMP’s US-based correspondents in February 2024.

Production areas have been hit by a series of cold waves with more frosty temperatures expected this week.

Researchers treat saline-alkaline wasteland with crop stalks and plastic covering to retain moisture and prevent salt from rising to the surface, increasing crop yields by 30.5 per cent.

China Comment report says local authorities and agricultural companies fabricated crop yield results to either enhance their image or secure financial support amid an ongoing food security drive.

While conventional methods of heritable gene editing in plants can take up to a year, innovation could reduce the process to about two weeks, say authors.

Overseas seed giants are utilising big data, artificial intelligence and gene editing, with Chinese firms focusing on molecular breeding, the China Seed Association says.

Renewed focus on self-sufficiency comes as US tensions, climate change and supply chain worries over Ukraine war weigh on global market outlook.

Top legislators, after an extensive inspection round of China’s seed industry, have issued a summary of their findings and recommendations for areas which need improvement.

Second episode of a four-part documentary series by state broadcaster CCTV focuses on corruption in China, including food security in Heilongjiang province, with 1,011 cases filed and 1,367 officials disciplined.

A new low-cost method of creating protein will help answer the soaring global demand for animal feed.

China, continuing its march towards self-sufficiency in food, sees offshore fish farming as one way to guarantee a plentiful harvest for its people.

Holding a small share of the world’s arable soil, as well as one of the planet’s largest populations, China has had to cultivate lands previously thought inhospitable to increase crop yields.