The State Council yesterday approved a plan to ensure that the country would be 95 percent self-sufficient in grain over the next 12 years, after hearing of farmers facing tremendous challenges in increasing output.

The State Council agreed at an executive meeting for a plan to ensure that grain output exceeds 500 million tons until 2010, and reaches 540 million tons by 2020.

Sprawling industrialization and urbanization pushed up demand, while land and water shortages, as well as climate change, hurt production, the meeting, presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao, heard.