Tapping potential

The School of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development of Renmin University of China recently released a report on the tendency for China's cultivated land to be transferred for non-agriculture purposes, and estimated the future amount of cultivated land and potentials of grain output.

"Agricultural restructuring, urbanization and industrialization will be the main reasons for the decline of cultivated land in the future. To ensure grain production, China must maintain high-quality cultivated land and improve the productivity on the land of non-agricultural purposes through economic incentives and administrative measures," said the report.

The report says China must improve its water-saving techniques in order to stabilize and increase future grain production.

Water plays a significant role in grain production—and adequate water resources are necessary to ensure grain security. However, distribution of China's water resources is uneven in different regions, varying season to season.

In the United States and Israel, a water-saving culture and best practices are already widely embraced. In the United States, 54 percent of irrigated lands utilize spray irrigation and micro-irrigation technologies. In Israel, those figures are close to 100 percent.

While rapid progress has been made in water-saving irrigation in China, spray irrigation and micro-irrigation areas still account for a small proportion of the total irrigated area, at less than 10 percent. This indicates that, on the one hand, China's irrigation technologies are still outdated, but on the other, there is great potential in saving water for agricultural production. To improve the efficiency of irrigation will help alleviate water shortage in agricultural production.

Huang Jikun, Director of the Agricultural Policy Research Center of the CAS Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, said China should improve the international grain trade environment and governance mechanism.

First, China should actively participate in the construction of global and regional food security governance mechanisms, such as to participate in establishing global and regional grain reserve systems, grain security governance systems and action plans prohibiting grain embargoes.

Second, China should actively boost international technology transfers. It can urge developed countries to transfer agricultural technologies to developing countries and improve grain production capability of China and other developing countries. China may also sign, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, middle- and long-term grain trade agreements with countries like the United States and Brazil, who are major exporters of soybean and corn to China.

Huang thought China should also actively promote grain production in Africa, which will be conducive to alleviating short supplies in the international grain market and relieving China's pressure of grain imports. "China should strengthen its aid of technology and infrastructure construction to African countries. To increase grain production in African countries can help enhance grain security in Africa and ensure China's grain security," Huang said. 

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