Small farms key to taking on hunger

小农场是消除饥饿的关键

China has underlined the importance of the role of smallholder farming as G20 members gather to address the global hunger and poverty crisis that's been worsened by climate change, conflicts and trade barriers.

在G20成员国齐聚一堂解决因气候变化、冲突和贸易壁垒而加剧的全球饥饿和贫困危机之际，中国强调了小农农业作用的重要性。

That was the message sent out by Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Ma Youxiang at the G20 meeting of agricultural ministers held in Cuiaba, Brazil, in September.

这是9月在巴西库亚巴举行的G20农业部长会议上，农业农村部副部长马有祥发出的信息。

Smallholder farming — a major source of livelihood for millions of people worldwide — is foundational to China's sprawling agricultural sector.

小农农业是全球数百万人的主要生计来源，是中国庞大农业部门的基础。

According to an agricultural census in 2016, small-scale farmers in China account for over 98 percent of agricultural operating entities, with an average plot of about 0.52 of a hectare per household.

根据2016年农业普查，中国小规模农户占农业经营主体的98%以上，平均每户土地面积约为0.52公顷。

Drawing inspiration from the nation's success in prioritizing the group in its fight against rural poverty and ensuring food security, he told a mix of agricultural officials and representatives from international organizations, including the World Bank, that the Chinese government has worked to empower these farmers with technologies, help build their capacity, and offer financial support — all aimed at enabling their integration with modern agriculture.

他对农业官员和包括世界银行在内的国际组织的代表说，中国政府一直致力于为这些农民提供技术，帮助他们建设能力，并提供财政支持，这是中国在消除农村贫困和确保粮食安全方面取得的成功的鼓舞，所有这些都旨在使他们能够融入现代农业。

To make food production more efficient, the vice-minister proposed accelerating the development of agricultural machinery and equipment tailor-made for smallholder farmers and improving the social services they need.

为了提高粮食生产效率，副部长建议加快发展为小农量身定制的农业机械和设备，改善他们所需的社会服务。

He also recommended extending food production's value chain to boost rural income and enhance farming resilience.

他还建议延长粮食生产的价值链，以增加农村收入，增强农业复原力。

"We shall make sure that no smallholder farmer is left behind," he said, adding that such efforts contribute to the United Nations'2030 Sustainable Development Goals of poverty reduction and eradicating hunger.

他说：“我们将确保不让一个小农掉队。”他补充说，这些努力有助于实现联合国2030年可持续发展目标，即减少贫困和消除饥饿。

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, smallholder famers, or family farmers, operate more than 90 percent of the world's farms, covering 70 to 80 percent of the global agricultural land area, and their food production value accounts for more than 80 percent of the world's total.

根据联合国粮农组织的数据，小农或家庭农场主经营着全球90%以上的农场，覆盖了全球70%至80%的农业用地面积，其粮食产值占全球80%以上。

Supporting smallholder farmers, for instance, by nurturing rural industrial clusters and integrating them into the production of agricultural products with higher added value, has aided poverty reduction and sustainable rural development, as demonstrated by Chinese practices.

例如，通过培育农村产业集群并将其纳入附加值更高的农产品生产来支持小农，有助于减贫和农村可持续发展，中国的实践证明了这一点。

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reported that 60 percent of central government funding allocated for rural vitalization initiatives was directed toward advancing rural industries. Three-quarters of farmers who have recently been lifted out of poverty are intricately engaged in the extended rural supply chain.

农业和农村事务部报告称，中央政府为乡村振兴举措分配的资金中有60%用于发展乡村产业。最近脱贫的农民中有四分之三错综复杂地从事着延伸的农村供应链。

Support measures aimed at farmers have bolstered national food security through various initiatives. These include subsidies for specific crop cultivation and the implementation of a minimum purchase price policy for grains. Under this policy, the government or relevant authorities commit to purchasing grains from farmers or traders at a set price.

针对农民的支持措施通过各种举措加强了国家粮食安全。其中包括对特定作物种植的补贴和对粮食实行最低收购价政策。根据这项政策，政府或有关当局承诺以固定价格从农民或贸易商手中收购谷物。

Additionally, the government dispatches technical teams to assist farmers during extreme weather events and outbreaks of pests and plant diseases.

此外，政府派遣技术小组在极端天气事件和病虫害爆发期间帮助农民。

Those efforts have in part helped China to further boost its food production capacity despite major food-producing areas being buffeted by typhoons and other extreme weather conditions earlier this year.

尽管今年早些时候主要粮食产区遭受台风和其他极端天气的袭击，但这些努力在一定程度上帮助中国进一步提高了粮食生产能力。

In late October, Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Zhang Xingwang told a news conference in Beijing that China is on track to surpass 700 million metric tons in grain yield for the first time this year, after maintaining a figure above 650 million tons for nine consecutive years.

10月下旬，农业农村部副部长张兴旺在北京举行的新闻发布会上表示，中国粮食产量连续9年保持在6.5亿吨以上，今年有望首次突破7亿吨。

At a news conference on World Food Day, which has been celebrated annually on Oct 16 since 1981 to raise awareness and promote action for fighting hunger and ensuring food security for all, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said China has managed to feed its 1.4 billion people despite having just a quarter of the world's arable land.

外交部发言人毛宁在世界粮食日新闻发布会上表示，自1981年以来，每年10月16日都会庆祝世界粮食日，旨在提高人们的认识并促进抗击饥饿和确保所有人粮食安全的行动。尽管中国的可耕地仅占世界的四分之一，但仍有14亿人口。

As the world's largest food producer, China also attaches great importance to global food security.

作为世界第一粮食生产国，中国也高度重视全球粮食安全。

The country has provided more funding and experts and undertaken more projects than any other developing country under the framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization's South-South Cooperation Programme, she said.

她说，在粮农组织南南合作计划的框架下，中国提供了比任何其他发展中国家更多的资金和专家，承担了更多的项目。

Mao reiterated the nation's commitment to more global cooperation on food security and to create a world free of hunger.

毛重申了国家在粮食安全和创造一个没有饥饿的世界方面加强全球合作的承诺。