英语小报

Agriculture in China

Group 8

Amid cold waves, China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has taken steps to ensure stable production and supply of crops, etc. It issued precautionary measures, dispatched 25 working groups (with experts in various fields) to 18 provinces/municipalities for on-site guidance and launched the highest emergency response. In northern China, measures for winter wheat and greenhouse/animal shelter management are proposed. In southern China, protective measures for rapeseed, etc. and allocation of relief materials are emphasized. The heavy snowfall impact is ending, but a cold wave is affecting central/eastern China and another is expected from Monday to Wednesday, likely bringing record low temps in the northern China plain.

Robots, plants and photovoltaic panels -- China fortifies "green Great Wall" to contain desert

The largest desert in China, the Taklimakan is now completely encircled by a green belt stretching 3,046 km as of late November, thanks to more than four decades of efforts as part of China's Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program to tackle desertification.

The program was launched in 1978 and is scheduled to be completed by 2050. In June 2023, China proposed to turn the program into a fully functional and unbreakable "green Great Wall" and ecological security barrier in northern China.

Over the past 46 years, China has expanded its afforestation area by 32 million hectares under the program. The afforestation area under the program is projected to encompass over 4 million square km across 13 provincial-level regions by 2050, accounting for 42.4 percent of the country's total land area.

Additionally, the forest coverage rate of the areas under the program has risen from 5.05 percent to 13.84 percent. Significant progress has been made in desertification and soil erosion control, while protection has been ensured for about 30 million hectares of farmland.

Source：chinadaily.com.cn Date：2023-12-19

GT Voice: Food security diversity pushes potential Argentina wheat deal

Source：Xinhua  Date：2024-12-7

In recent years, as one of the world's major wheat importers, China's wheat imports have primarily come from the US, Canada, and Australia. China was the largest wheat importer globally in marketing year 2022-23, with imports reaching 12 million tons, according to the Grain: World Markets and Trade issued by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). In this context, Argentina, as a major global agricultural exporter, is known for its high-quality wheat and stable production, presents a promising option in the international market. If Argentine wheat traders can successfully complete bulk sales to China, it would undoubtedly provide China with a new and reliable source of food 

Word List

Source：Global Times Date: Dec 02, 2024 11:35 PM

precautionary

n.预防性

allocation

n.分配

precautionary

v.包含

encircle

v.包围

afforestation

n.造林

erosion

n.侵蚀

agriculture trade

农业贸易

structure

n.构造

wheat

n.小麦

imports, allowing it to further optimize its food import mix and decrease its reliance on individual suppliers.From an economic perspective, China's deepening trade cooperation with Argentina offers substantial mutual benefits. In 2023, China imported $6.66 billion goods from Argentina, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. This data underscores China's pivotal position in Argentina's trade landscape and lays a strong foundation for further expanding agricultural trade between the two nations.China's imports from Argentina have long been dominated by grains and agricultural products. Argentina's recent efforts to secure bulk wheat sales to China not only signify a significant expansion of agricultural trade between the two nations but also highlight the deepening economic and trade cooperation between them.In the field of agricultural trade, China actively expands the scale of imports while continuously optimizing the import structure, providing a broad market space and new possibilities for agricultural trade with various countries, especially those in the Global South.

Comment Section

The content is rich and focused. It comprehensively presents various elements of agricultural development, such as traditional farming wisdom and modern high-tech applications. It elaborates on how advanced technologies like hydroponics and drone surveillance are enhancing productivity. The information is accurate and up-to-date, citing recent agricultural research and industry statistics.

An evaluation of the English tabloid on agricultural development: The layout is well-structured with distinct sections like "Traditional Farming" and "Modern Agritech", maintaining coherence. Colors and illustrations related to agriculture enhance visual appeal. Content-wise, it has a good range of accurate terms and covers various aspects from historical shifts to future trends, though some areas could use more in-depth analysis. Language is suitable for its intended audience; simple for beginners and more complex for advanced readers. To improve the selling point, it could adopt a more innovative approach, by highlighting unique agricultural practices to make it truly stand out and engage readers more effectively.

Regarding language, it is precise and fluent. The English expressions are appropriate, using a good mix of common and agricultural technical terms. However, it could improve by adding more real-life success stories of farmers to make the content more relatable. Overall, it is an informative and well-designed newspaper that effectively conveys the importance and progress of agricultural development.

Data Search: Fanmin,Fei; Hao,Wang;

Yiyan,Shen

Comment: Yizhe,Han; Hao,Lu

Picture Editor: Xinyi,Deng

Date:2024-12-10 Tuesday