BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu on Thursday called for accelerating innovation and promotion of agricultural science and technology.

"It is vital to the overall economic and social development to obtain grain harvests and agricultural production and ensure major farm produce supplies this year," Hui said at a symposium with agricultural experts here.

He stressed the need for technology breakthroughs in seed production and called for cultivating new varieties of seeds of great application value.

Response plans for possible natural disasters and plant disease and animal epidemics must be made in advance to reduce damage, while more technology guidance and training should be offered to farmers, he said.

The fundamental solution to the growing restraints of natural resources and the environment on agricultural development is improving the role of science and technology, Hui told the symposium.

He said inadequate synergy of technology resources, lagging reforms of research institutes and weak corporate innovation were problems plaguing agricultural technology development.

China will expand its fiscal budget for agriculture, direct more fixed-asset investment toward the sector and offer more subsidies for major grain-producing areas in 2012, according to a document issued Wednesday by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, or Cabinet.

Local authorities must increase investment in agricultural science and technologies as required by the central government, Hui said.