China endeavours to increase its arable land
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-30 09:48
BEIJING -- The Chinese government has taken measures to increase the arable
land area as the country's farmland shrinkage threatens grain production.
The Ministry of Land and Resources initiated 497 programs in the fist half
year to adjust its land structure and develop more farmland for grain
production.
The programs are expected to bring 930,000 mu (62,000 hectares) of new arable
land to the country. The ministry did not detail the amount of investment and
when the programs would be completed.
From 2001 to 2005, the government launched 1,765 programs to develop 4.55
million mu (303,000 hectares) of new arable land and to improve productivity on
existing cultivated areas. These are expected to bring a 21-percent rise in
grain production.
China lost eight million hectares of farmland to urbanization and erosion
over the past decade, and the area of cultivated land fell from 1.951 billion mu
(130 million hectares) in 1996 to 1.83 billion mu (122 million hectares) last
year.
Per capita arable land dropped from 1.43 mu (0.095 hectares) in 2003 to 1.4 mu
(0.093 hectares) in 2005. Experts predict the figure could continue to drop next
year.
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