The annual Central Economic Work Conference, held from December 16 to 18, 2020, proposed to strengthen the development of high-standard farmland, the most important task in improving the quality of China's cultivated land.

The drought and flood resistant farmland is suitable for agricultural mechanization, and will increase grain production. The country also seeks to develop 100 million mu (6.67 million hectares) of such land in 2021 and achieve 1 billion mu (66.7 million hectares) by 2022 to guarantee food security.

As the creation of high-standard farmland involves such arenas as engineering and agronomy, the cost of time, materials and labor shall only go up in remote areas with inferior conditions. Without effective management and protection as well as continued supervision and punitive measures in place, the actual results of many initially well-structured projects shall be affected.

Except for an increase in government spending, the pursuit of developing high-standard farmland across China requires a variety of approaches to encourage the participation of private capitals, such as fiscal subsidies, investment subsidies, as well as the cooperation between government and private enterprises.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Economic Daily on December 29, 2020