The 2025 International Conference on Reducing Food Loss and Waste is being held in Jinan, capital city of East China's Shandong province, from July 24 to 26, bringing together experts and representatives from international organizations to discuss global food security.

As a major grain-production city in China, Jinan, also the host city of the conference, in recent years has made significant efforts in reducing food loss and waste and achieved notable progress across the supply chain in support of food security.

According to official data, in 2024, Jinan’s total grain-sown area reached 7.3 million mu (approximately 486,800 hectares), with total grain output exceeding 3.05 million metric tons, marking six consecutive years of growth. That same year, the city also developed 215,000 mu of new high-standard farmland.

These achievements are attributed to Jinan’s targeted efforts to reduce grain loss across the entire supply chain, from production and processing to storage, logistics, consumption, and research, by using practical and effective technologies.

High-quality seeds and planting techniques are being widely promoted. Jinan has built 176,000 mu of seed breeding bases and plans to standardize seed supply for wheat, corn, and soybeans at over 2.4 million mu by 2025, fully supporting local seed sales.

In addition, high-end technologies have been applied in grass planting and production. For example, the Jinan Start-up Area for Growth Drivers Transformation in the northern part of the city stands as a model for agricultural technology innovation.

The region established a grain loss reduction demonstration area in 2023, where digital tools like IoT, big data, and cloud computing are fully integrated into the production process, enabling smart management at every step, from planting to harvesting and storage.

For grain storage, Jinan has issued policy documents to provide clear guidelines and regulations for grain-saving and loss reduction efforts. Since 2021, a total storage capacity of 334,000 tons has been upgraded and renovated.

High-standard farmland construction is a key focus in Jinan. These farmlands feature well-optimized infrastructure to ensure stable and high grain yields. For example, in Zhangqiu district, upgraded irrigation systems and the adoption of smart agriculture technologies are expected to increase grain output by 15 to 20 percent per mu compared to last year.