Abstract: Based on the data of plow land area, sown area, grain output, planting structure, agricultural investment and total output value from 1980 to 2013 in Henan Province, the characteristics were summarized, the variation trend were analyzed and the food security mechanism in future was suggested. It was shown that the rising and maintain of plow land was related to policy support, and the increase potential was getting smaller, but the improvement potential for quality was large. The fluctuations of sown area and plow land area showed similar trend, indicating that the change of sown area was getting more dependent on the change of plow land area. The increase potential for total grain output was small, yet the ability to keep stable output was enhanced. In general, agricultural investment increased year by year, the total output value increased linearly, but the ratio of total agricultural output value to that of agriculture-forestry-stockbreeding-fishery decreased linearly. It was proposed that it should make farmers-benefiting-oriented policy, stabilize the plow land area, improve the soil quality of low to middle-yield-field, and raise the comprehensive productivity of land resource to improve the output of grain. And it should speed up scientific and technological innovation, and promote construction of science and technology service system and the “Internet+” modern agriculture to increase the contribution rate of agricultural science and technology progress.

Key words: food security, plow land area, sown area, planting structure, grain output, yield potential, land quality