Corn yields on model farms in northeast China have climbed to a record high of 16.8 tons per hectare, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The higher corn yields will improve farmers' income and ensure the food security of the world's most populous country, said Wang Pu, a researcher with the ministry.

Two hectares of model farms in Jilin province, a major corn producer, yielded a total 33.6 tons of corn this autumn, Wang said.

He said the breakthrough will help increase the yield in sub-arid areas from 6.8 tons to 9 tons and that in areas in the province with sufficient rainfall from 7.5 tons to 9 tons.

China produced about 134 million tons of corn from about 26.7 million hectares of farmland in 2005. The average yield per hectare is about 5.2 tons.

Food production in China declined between 1999 and 2003 as farmland shrunk and only started to rise again from 2004 with help of higher grain yields.

Yuan Longping, the world renowned "father of hybrid rice", earlier announced that rice yields on Chinese model farms are expected to rise to 13.5 tons per hectare in 2008 from 12 tons in 2004.

Source: Xinhua