Expert Calls for Action against China's Farmland Degradation

China's 1.8-billion-mu 'red line' weaves in and out of the country's arable land protection region. Recent reports focused on ever-shrinking farmland and concerns about self-sufficiency in grain supply. Meanwhile, experts warn that the country's farmland is not just shrinking in quantity, but in quality as well. Wu Jia has the report.

China set the "red line" four years ago to guarantee that arable land would never shrink less than 1.8 billion mu, or 120 million hectares.

Recent statistics from the Ministry of Land and Resources reveals that for the first nine months of this year, China made progress in slowing down agricultural land loss.

But, experts warn that the overall conditions of the arable land remain alarming.

Zeng Xibai, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says the country should avoid consuming farmland for construction projects. And the land exchanges should not be in quantity alone.

"The most important thing is to make sure the replacement has comparable production capacity. In some small towns, farm lands taken by urbanization or industrialization are supplemented by lands just in the same quantity, regardless of land quality. That's a conceptual mistake."

China's Land Administrative Law states that every piece of arable land allocated for non-farming uses must be replaced with an equal amount for agricultural purposes.

In the case of Longquan in east China's Zhejiang Province, the arable land occupied by an expressway was replaced with land on a barren hilltop, where people planted broad beans without success.

Zhu Daolin, a professor from China Agricultural University, says the government should immediately set up a practical and comprehensive appraisal system for land exchange.

"In fact the standard and grade of arable land have been set, but as for how to ensure the supplemented land matches the occupied in capacity, there is a lack of feasible measures for supervision and inspection."

Actually, professor Zhu claims that there seems to be a trend for some people to think that to preserve farm land is to preserve 'backwardness.'

"Agricultural comparative advantage is low. To sell the land brings more profits or even investments for local development. With this in mind, people have hardly any enthusiasm for farmland preservation."

China's agricultural trade deficit last year was about 13 billion US dollars, with aquatic products excluded. Imported soybeans, alone, exceeded 40 million tons, which if self-produced, would take up to 15 percent of Chinese farmland.

Judging from these figures, along with the expanding population, experts believe that it's still imperative for the country to watch out for the loss of farmland, while at the same time, increase the capacity of the existing arable land.

For CRI, I'm Wu Jia.