China contributes greatly to global food security (2)

BUMPY ROAD AHEAD

China has a population of 1.3 billion people and the number is on the rise. The FAO estimates that China's demand for food will be 700 million tonnes by 2020.

Although the country has set a red line that its cultivated land area should not fall below 120 million hectares, pressure on arable land protection is still great, mainly due to rapid urbanization.

In Misika's view, the high level of food waste, especially table food waste, could pose a threat to China's sustained food security if not addressed soon.

The environmental sustainability of the food production and consumption system is another challenge to the food security of future generations, warned the FAO representative.

Cheng said, most seriously, farmers' willingness to grow crops is rapidly waning as returns from the land are much smaller than working in cities.

In a situation far removed from the land split of 1978, China is now encouraging a consolidation of land in the hope of boosting economies of scale and incentivizing farmers.

To that end, China's central authorities have vowed to support the transfer and mortgage of land-use rights in order to faciliate large-scale farming.

As a result, China now has about 870,000 "family farms," each with an average area of 13 hectares. More than one million farming cooperatives have been established across the country.

"These organizations are an important force pushing ahead China's agricultural modernization," said Li.

Cheng suggested that China should put more effort into agricultural technology, which is key to improve productivity, since the arable land is quite limited.

A string of pro-agriculture policies are already in place, including farmer training, minimum grain purchase prices and protection of cultivated land area.

"These measures put China in a good position to ensuring food security for its people," said Misika.