Expert calls for a change in approach after state media report alleged county officials misreported the size of rice fields to meet targets
3-MIN READ3-MINDannie Pengin BeijingPublished: 12:00pm, 27 Jul 2026China’s agriculture sector needs more advanced technology and innovation to boost yields and improve food security – not more farmland and crops, according to a rural policy expert.The remarks came after a state media investigation alleged that officials in central China had inflated the size of mandatory rice crops to hit their targets.
CCTV programme Focus Report aired its investigation on July 14, claiming officials in Jianghua Yao – a county in Yongzhou, Hunan province – had misreported the extent of farmland used for growing rice.
It said officials claimed to have met their 2024 target by reporting 390,000 mu (26,000 hectares) of rice paddies had been planted in the county.
But the actual size of the paddy fields that year was far smaller at 238,000 mu (15,866 hectares), according to the report.
It labelled the practice “paper farming”, saying some of the crops existed only on paper.
