China's Mega Projects: Food

[Music] [Music] [Music] it is a challenge unprecedented in human history to feed 22% of the world's population with only 7% of the world's cultivated land what's the secret behind the China's successful establishment of food security we are going to find out how the world's most populous country feeds its people [Music] it is a huge project for more complex and argue Asst than most can imagine for thousands of years the Chinese people have been working wonders with their diligence and wisdom [Music] this is the UN Young County set deep in the ILA mountains of China's Yunnan Province in May by one who begins the year's most important tasks planting rice seedlings could you tell Jewish woman that loves it cometh shot so she teaches at EIU jump over those two sale watch Alex Young sounds out to you buy one whose ancestors moved here about 1300 years ago to grow more food they terraced the wild mountain slopes a slope that climbs 2,000 meters can be cut into three thousand seven hundred terraces at the very most you onion county has over 11,000 hectares of terraced land an ancient Chinese mega project to provide food for the population [Music] bhai's family work about 1/4 of a hectare of rice paddies the locals support themselves by farming using methods which date back thousands of years [Music] today China has to feed 1.38 billion people the huge demand of food requires for new farming methods to complement the old [Music] [Music] four thousand kilometers away from the honey terraces farmers in northeastern China strive for the efficient over the picturesque July is the busiest time of the year for farm manager Leo Bell he oversees thirty three thousand hectares of rice paddies in July the fields need to be checked every day okay now once we thank you man there's a bigger fish you know what Manila sweet and I'm feeling we do the speaking with Tom you know you then Paul fauna how he was a bad seed all this here Carly your own agenda you young fella [Music] Jacob you may even pop on a new woman every meeting to that as neck blast spreads quickly and is difficult to cure the rice farmers have to take preventive measures the best time to do this is 10 days before rice heading for Leo Bell this means he has just ten days to protect his thirty three thousand hectares of rice from fatal disease [Music] [Music] one of them my god yeah pilot leo Goucher has been crop spraying for more than 20 years today he will start to spray pesticides over the farms 33,000 hectares of rice paddies [Music] lomi efficient I never got to completion sake go fishing at 3 palette could be adduced DT to BT Pennsylvania couldn't keep Antos the time we would touch you they don't think about it I mean you shall die yeah me and Sonny yogi will do this year so you should be fill color with your from Google applause hola deconfliction she recalled me you can feel him and efficient and me the hidden to your vision he confided to be a photo so Prius and Michigan meet him in zou Macau to hear the super mission Cesare a Cisco its IANA Kofi Oakland you Endymion John will fasten waffle leoch watcher can cover 100 hectares of fields per flight and up to 3,300 hectares per day although aerial spring is very efficient farmworkers still need to work as fast as possible because they are facing an unpredictable enemy unpredictable weather is the biggest threat to aerial spring if it rains within a couple of hours of spring the pesticides will be washed away strong winds can carry the spray droplets away from their target to guarantee the right result Leo Bao has to wait for a stable weather window whatever years from shandong you let all be not one where you're trying to beat up on that yard or you kill a Eddy Daniela leo balls form is on land once known as the great northern wilderness today it is called the largest greenery in China since the 1940s more than 1 million people have moved here they came with a single shared purpose to reclaim the land and feed the nation near my house that $1 million VCS who potentially are you Tom - yeah you can have a challenger [Music] this is the okk Watchers flight path for the operation it will take over 300 flights to cover all 33 thousand hectares his feet will rarely touch the ground through the spraying season this is just the life of one pilot during the critical blast prevention period more than 40 crop sprayers will be working the skies over the 1.3 million hectares of cultivated land the annual harvest is enough to feed 100 million people China's largest granary is vast but it is only one small part of China China encompasses a huge expansive territory but most of it is mountain or wilderness only 10% of the land is suitable for farming China has less than 1/10 of a hectare of agricultural land per head of population this means it has to feed 22 percent of the world's population with only 7 percent of the world's arable land it is a challenge unprecedented in the history of mankind the task might have seemed impossible but for one man's invention [Music] you on long ping is known throughout China as the father of hybrid race there was techniques he invented to grow rice that have made such a difference to the nation's ability to feed itself at the age of 87 he has come to Qingdao especially to test the characteristics of a new strain of rice rice is the staple food of over 800 million Chinese in the 1960s the average yield of rice was only 1.5 tons per hectare in 1960 yuan long ping a teacher at an agricultural school in Hunan Province began working on hybrid rice technology 15 years on his work had tripled the yield per hectare to 4.5 tonnes [Music] improvement in planting techniques further increased agricultural efficiency [Music] you on long ping kept on improving his hybrid rice strains and today the third generation of super hybrid rice can yield up to 15 tons per hectare by 2030 the Chinese population will peak at one point 45 billion which means China has to prepare for another 100 million mouths to feed as China is simultaneously undergoing the world's largest move to urbanization land is becoming an increasingly precious resource as far as land is concerned China has to produce maximum amount of food from what is available jingo is one of china's eastern coastal cities this was once a coastal beach now it is a rice paddy unlike other rice paddies the rice here is irrigated with desalinated seawater and so is known as sea rice [Music] but I need you to hold on just a few dollars he's on top of July first you gotta know that Union is wrong what is the iPad for crops could not grow in such highly sell and iced soy 'el anywhere in the world but the Chinese have made the impossible possible the father of hybrid rice leads the see rice project he has come to Qingdao to just the rice characteristics during its heading period woman a movie on the earlier lenient she would think ye mo hon biennial Iranians of something you can kill somebody come Jesus McCadden a crazy day Yahoo Party uncle China has about 100 million hectares of saline alkali soil of which more than thirteen point three million hectares are suitable for the cultivation of C rice the world has about 1 billion hectares of saline alkali soil this Chinese technology provides a new solution to global hunger [Music] these two and a half hectares of rice paddy may look quite ordinary but it is in fact a miracle in agricultural production rice is growing in places where it had been deemed impossible [Music] [Music] in towns and cities across the nation the supermarkets are rarely quiet China consumes 18,000 tons of eggs 100,000 tons of pork and 200,000 tons of fruit every day sales of food in the supermarkets reflect people's dietary structure vegetables always claim an important place on Chinese dining tables it is estimated that each individual in China consumes ten times their weight in vegetables each year China has a population of close to 1.4 billion the demand for vegetables is relentless and insatiable [Music] at yugyeong County and Gansu Province vegetable farmer nourish wagon is planting out cauliflowers in his field the area where neo schewe gang lives is high up and chilly it has lots of sunshine but the temperature range between day and night is extreme rainfall is less than abundant at 400 millimeters per year but otherwise the region is ideal for growing top quality vegetables to meet adverse geographical conditions many irrigation projects had been built since the 1940s to boost food production the local farm land has been irrigated by water from the Yellow River and local growers also found a new way to grow more vegetables honey telephone languages for any condition eager long young along saying a cool shower hi Jessica so far Kaiser says no these are there is no judge from where I forget who are God uses Fela to hide on John Deere I want to my Derrick register for the plastic film has been laid in place the newly planted seedlings need a good watering to increase their chances of survival when the Sun rises and the evaporation increases the soil will stay adequately moist beneath the film when the night falls and the temperature drops the plastic film helps keep the soil warm this simple plastic film has changed the appearance of the entire region in addition to the southern mountains the arid loss plateau to the north has also become a haven for vegetable production [Music] yoshua gong has planted his last crop of cauliflowers for the year the baby Chinese cabbages are ready for harvest [Applause] in June summer vegetables appear in the markets on the lanzhou Plateau the summer often sees vegetable shortages in southern China because of extreme weather and flooding brought on by typhoons southern China is then the biggest market for vegetables produced in guns whose yugyeong County so if I didn't tell you buddy that detecting girl and put away you can't really do better the plateau continues to supply summer vegetables until November by November the average temperature across northern China has already dropped to five degrees Celsius thereafter as winter begins to set in it becomes impractical to grow vegetables the vegetables then have to be brought from South China to the north transportation increases the cost but there is one other option [Music] wet leet one way is a vegetable farmer from Shu Guang city in East China he mainly plants Tomatoes it is early May most tomato plants grown in northern China are still immature Lee already has ripe tomatoes because he has adopted a winter greenhouse planting technology the greenhouse has a simple structure the curved roof is supported by steel pipes and cement columns both ends are walled off with plastic film stuffed with insulating material the temperature inside can reach 35 degrees Celsius even in winter with the help of the greenhouses Li can grow vegetables three seasons a year of course not all greenhouses are such simple structures [Music] in the new intelligent greenhouse in shale Guang city it takes only one technician to manage the whole 8,000 square meter complex with advanced hydroponics crops are no longer planted in the dirt although the greenhouse relies in high-tech solutions there is still one vital area in which nature is required to lend a helping hand so the metaphor was India Hassan Wall the optimum solution combines technology and nature [Music] today's show gong city has 40,000 hectares of vegetable greenhouses with an annual output of four and a half million tonnes of vegetables which supply the North Chinese market during the winter months [Music] [Music] human have drunk cow's milk for as long as they have had domesticated cattle milk is rich in calcium vitamins and all the amino acids required for human growth over the last 20 years China's milk consumption has increased by six-fold china is the world's fastest-growing milk consumer at bamboo city in southeast China 6700 hectares of alfalfa are ready for the first harvest of the year alfalfa is a top-quality feed for grazing animals once its use was restricted to highly valued horses now it is being as fodder for another kind of animal altogether five kilometers away is a large modern ranch which raises more than 40 thousand cows it is the largest dairy farm in China the fresh alfalfa will be delivered here after being pressed and fermented it becomes a nutritious feed which not only provides the protein needed by account but will also greatly improve its milk yield a high-quality feed is what guarantees milk yield and the health of the cows equally keeping the cows happy overall is an important factor [Music] it may look painful but in fact the cows enjoy it much [Music] people have here for you this Georgia sedan yeah well have a Shabbat soon eg I would have told her [Music] you and you Tasha um push you with you what you don't like the human fingernails cows hoof nails is a kind of cuticle our nails grow about three millimeters per month and cows nails grow almost 5 millimeters every month Vall little too thin that you know we got sure [Music] great efforts are made to create a more comfortable life for the cows after that the cows need to go to work [Music] the 20 meter diameter rotating milking machines are the heart of the dairy [Music] driven by a hydraulic pump the giant milker can handle 80 cows at a time the operators work efficiently around the outside of the turntable somebody dies only that somewhat is an idea [Music] when shall you see a sativa filled with you no matter what I do if I want to know please don't even I have given a pelvic I know did you publish Tula [Music] the machine completes a full rotation every 10 minutes it can milk nearly 500 cows in an hour the entire ranches daily output is over 600 tons of milk that's enough for the daily consumption of 20 million people the numbers are rapidly changing statistics show that the consumption of dairy products increases by 0.8 percent if individual income increased by 1 percent the changes are driven by a new dietary structure of the Chinese people like eggs meat and vegetables milk has become an important part of a changing diet [Music] with the improvement in refrigeration techniques various types of aquatic products now appear regularly in big supermarkets foodstuffs that were once luxuries are becoming everyday fare it's June and jungjie away is about to set sail into the Gulf of Light Joe China has a very long eastern coastline to better conserve coastal fisheries the four-month closed season of fishing starts at the beginning of May with catches decreasing the country is experimenting with new ways to cultivate seafood my vision sound there we are see where I was gonna keep it off favorite I'm a young little layer on hey y'all you don't stop Peter not Hannah jeong-ja way is going to install these metal cages the 10 meter wide net cages are not used to catch fish but to farm them even more blessed ECOMOG register values like even if I write English Ariana now they are done yesterday Jawa you can you the head of our particle commended Allah in putting it work whenever you who let a body wash off $20 that put in days after a frame is fixed in place the net will be attached to it the net extends eight meters beneath the sea surface creating a 750 cubic metre underwater cage when the weather is suitable fish fry will be placed in the cage fish proteins have a similar composition to human proteins it is a good way for mankind to obtain protein China is the only country in the world which breeds more fish than catches it in 2014 the annual output of aquatic products in China reached 69 million tons these white roofed coastal workshops are land-based breeding farms each unit has 50 tanks each tank is 8 meters in diameter and 8 meters in depth it is filled with purified seawater liquid oxygen pumped into the water to maintain oxygen levels and provide ideal breeding conditions for the fish each tank can sustain over one and a half tons of fish fry as the ocean temperature rises in June fish fry from the land-based facilities will be released back to the sea [Music] [Applause] [Music] after fixing the 200 net cages jeonggi away and his crew can release the fish [Music] you see doctor tell that while they do it ha some kaelin come on but about me you'll find it be your key yeah you guys know okay I don't believe it they do it without you did that what oh happy day fire the doctor dr. Anderson I don't know y'all are good always and we're after your woman y'all really hoorah you and Rashad muchacha we got a good holiday see you saturday the cage meshes two centimeters across which keeps the fish secure while allowing the sea water to flow through and take away the waste products that attempts to balance natural ecology with marine aquaculture today while China is able to feed its 1.4 billion people it is also constantly looking for more nutritious and healthier food stuffs innovative technologies are changing traditional farming methods even a minor adjustment can lead to unexpected changes for a whole industry July is the hottest month in core law of Xinjiang in China's Far West it is also the peak season for a variety of crop diseases and pests [Music] hi hi Poong and his best control team set out again core lies on the vast plains south of the tian shan mountains since 2016 under China's new land policy large tracts of arable land here are contracted to individuals which creates benefits of scale in agricultural operations the new production methods make new demands on agricultural services these young men almost all under 25 call themselves new farmers they use unmanned aerial vehicles drones to spray pesticides on the crops [Music] okay yo the time agility infant prodigy put a chair out young called a beauty you got wing but you mean velocity relationship financial world today the drone is over a meter across and weighs 17 kilograms they can fly just one meter above the crops high speed centrifugal nozzles atomized the liquid pesticide which the airflow from the propellers then drives down on to the crops the use of drones is becoming more and more widespread in China's agriculture as the nation's aeronautics and space industries develop satellite navigation technology allows many UAVs to operate autonomously and precisely [Music] architects for planet earth imaging diversity technique and fishing is rule hydrological okay cheering I hype unloads another canister of pesticide into the drone and the software takes care of the rest each machine can cover four hectares of fields per hour and uses 12 litres of pesticide per hectare this method of spraying has reduced pesticide consumption by 30% it also greatly reduces pesticide residue on the crops and reduces overall water consumption by 90% July is the key point in insect control piping and his team literally need to work day and night if I can sue interpolant I still do not go around and come back we were talking about maybe your ear you can hear everything a chart on this bar closed I don't bedont for ya somebody's a shark on G talking liberty in alpha control sorry Uncle Joe we've done with the accuracy brought by satellite navigation the drones are to operate smoothly even in the dark this UAV technology is not only applied in crop protection but also for the confirmation of land rights and crop surveillance in general today a variety of previously labor-intensive agricultural services can be booked by a phone call or the click of a mouse these new agricultural service models are stirring a quiet new agricultural revolution [Music] jang gyeongwan has a doctorate in plant breeding and genomics focused on the application of biotechnology to improve crop breeding in a laboratory in shenzhen his research team is conducting genetic tests on millet [Music] [Music] seed quality is crucial for plants and each species has a unique genetic sequence which determines the plants characteristics dr. jeong's job is to mark out these characteristics to identify a plant's genome means to decipher its life code and growth pattern he founded indicated to be seeing my affections Shanti ingested different DNA's Chile to get your suit from the combat machine which rather cool seems not really kind of hybrid vehicles like the Titan get you will access naivety choose a more equal than thirty kilometer give a thirteen agenda okay kind of just sorry I said you son did you guys shoot in my cupboard seshu I'm okay kind of take it be fun to come to the how to fall but boy in the Chokey three english since the beginning of agricultural society plant breeding has been in eternal theme seeds are not only the foundation of agricultural production but also the primary element to ensure crops quality and yield China however is experiencing a crisis in its seed industry from 2000 to 2010 imports of high quality seeds increased by nearly fivefold dr. jeong and his team are dedicated to reversing that trend through biotechnology to me Hachi then had done a lot Shoshanna [ __ ] so touched our hearts hanun gon hate I am who gon urologist excuse me home they saw me on the shovel or me do please don't take his head off Luciana just shush please you got used on the show you Starbucks called it sonography she got you back this and BtoB genomes of two-thirds of the world's agricultural species have been deciphered in the institution where dr. Jung works this means that Jung's team has a clearer idea of how to produce better seeds today's breeding procedures are more accurate and controllable this is the largest gene Bank in the world with living biological samples from 300,000 plant species millions of animals and tens of millions of microorganisms [Music] they take it just fancy Boston alone just leech are supportive [Music] well I think what occurs in the multi so prodigious parts oil change astonishing he so yeah what is a suji - yeah so - Angela great joining good so he ain't you so here Charlie Shangguan the from bulimia charge Lutie cheetah [Music] in 2011 dr. Jung's team completed the sequencing of the rice genome and drew the first high-density genetic map they have altered the leaf color of sterile millet from yellow-green to dark green enhancing the efficiency of its photosynthesis and thereby increasing its yield by over 20 percent it is the first example of where genome mapping has successfully contributed to the improvement of plant performance it is causing a revolution in the breeding of minor crops and indicates how science and technology will change the future face of Agriculture [Music] oh no tell you know sorry anymore Thunder than that pshew that's all there so be here she'd rather do that relative out you know finance to recommend it at Europe just to ensure neither candidate all over to Macedonia are you New York against you are still a number well look wrong this farm is in central China the wheat harvest begins today hot air rising from the ground and taking moisture into the upper atmosphere threatens to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms do Tony and his team have two days to harvest 870 hectares of crops channel D channel 2 news without telling me which all to the show may not deliver to ensure smooth and fast running operation the forum will use 37 large harvesters each harvester takes one and a half tonnes of grain from previous experience the most efficient way is to have two harvesters working the same block the land here along the Yellow River was developed for arable use in the late 1950s today it provides high-quality wheat and wheat seed for China's central plains of all the green crops in the world wheat has the largest planted area the highest yield and the widest distribution it accounts for one third of the world's total green output China is the world's largest wheat grower 90 kilometers away the rain has already started falling it is due here in 20 hours do Tong's team now needs to work non-stop to get the job done [Music] generation to the Sochi for daddy works serious one [Music] DUS team has completed their task the parched land now is thirsty for the promised rain however technologically advanced we've become we are still bound by the cycle of nature [Music] in less than a month starting sometime in June 24 million hectares of wheat fields will be harvested across China they will yield over 120 million tonnes of wheat the agricultural cycle continues from sowing to harvest crops grow and mature as the seasons come and go China's gargantuan food supply system runs in its never-ending cycle feeding its 1.4 billion people balancing the 7% to 22% equation through diligence and wisdom [Music] what drives our vehicles forward and heats our rooms and cold winters what keeps the huge factories running ceaselessly at high speeds it all depends on energy today we will take you into a new field to reveal how energy is driving the rapid development of China's economy please join us for the third season of China's mega projects [Music] [Music] you

Channel: CGTN

Views: 731,122

Rating: 4.8239937 out of 5

Keywords: CCTV, CGTN, CCTVNews, News, ChinaNews, Documentary, project, manufacture, Chinafood

Id: AmVNwilQJvc

Length: 50min 7sec (3007 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 29 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Palladium1987]

China only has 7% of the world's arable land yet it produces more agri output than the US, EU, India and Brazil combined in 2018.

[u/lurker4lyfe6969]

Mega Project Transportation was pretty damn good too. I found one where they were polishing a space telescope to perfection, that one was really nice