China to invest in agriculture innovation

agriculture, a move to boost the country's modern agricultural development, CRI English writes.

China will intensify efforts to encourage development of both frontier agricultural technologies and basic research, so as to maintain sustainable agricultural growth, said the document, issued jointly by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, China's Cabinet.

China Daily says this was the first time the government took "accelerating agricultural scientific and technological innovation" as the theme of its No. 1 central document.

"It is a milestone in the history of China's agricultural science and technology development," said Chen Mengshan, a spokesman from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The State Council said in this year's paper that the government would encourage research focusing on areas including biotechnology, seed production and effective use of farmland, Reuters states.

China has been battling persistent consumer inflation, which was largely driven by food prices, and hit a peak in July of 6.5%.