BEIJING — The State Council has issued a plan to boost sustainable development of agriculture by 2020, said Vice-Minister of Agriculture Chen Xiaohua on March 20.

Speaking at a routine briefing on government policies, Chen said here that China’s agricultural growth should shift from the extensive mode, which features high resource consumption, heavy input and disregard for the ecological environment, to the intensive mode that emphasizes improving quality and efficiency.

According to the plan, the country will promote scientific and technological advance in agriculture, protect farmland, raise irrigation efficiency, fight environmental pollution and restore agricultural ecology.

It says that China’s forest coverage shall exceed 23 percent by 2020.