Renowned Chinese agricultural scientist Yuan Longping said saltwater-tolerant rice will be planted on 100 million mu (6.6 million hectares) of saline-alkali land in eight to 10 years.

At the third International Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Forum held in Sanya City of Hainan Province, Yuan said the average yield will be 300 kilograms per mu, meaning China can harvest an additional 30 billion kilograms of rice a year, enough to feed 80 million people.