A shortage of land and water resources is the most significant
challenge facing China's agricultural development. Chen Xiwen, a
senior rural development official, called in Shanghai Sunday for
more efficient measures to prevent further loss of cultivated
land.
Chen is also vice minister of the Office of the Central Leading
Group on Financial and Economic Affairs.
He emphasized that in 2003 the per capita cultivated land was
1.43 mu (1 mu equals 1/15 hectare) and the figure
had fallen to 1.4 mu in 2005. He indicated that this trend
is likely to continue.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in 2005
the per capita cultivated land in China was only 40 percent of the
world's average level and the per capita water accounted for 27
percent.
Chen said that every year local governments apply for a total 12
million mu of land for construction projects, while the
central government only allows 4 million mu of cultivated
land to be occupied for that purpose.
In 1996 the total cultivated land in China was 1.951 billion mu.
However, this figure had dropped to just 1.83 billion mu
in 2005. In other words, 121 million mu of valuable
agricultural land had been lost within a decade. Currently there
are just six provinces with cultivated lands surpassing 100 million
mu.
To some extent, water shortages also obstruct the development of
agriculture. Despite the country's per capita water availability of
2,070 cubic meters, there are significant imbalances within
different regions. For example, in north China the figure is much
lower than this. In Beijing it's only 400 cubic meters and the
situation is even worse in Tianjin.
China's agricultural distribution has changed, said Chen. Rice
planting develops quickly in northeast China, but at the same time
water shortages in this region are serious.
He suggested that the current utilization of irrigation
facilities should be improved. These systems have been installed in
100 million mu of cultivated land but they actually cover
700 million mu or so.
If the above problems cannot be resolved properly, the
agricultural industry is likely to face a crisis in the near
future.
According to Chen, in order to promote the development of
agriculture, China will have to both encourage domestic demand and
bridge the gap between urban and rural areas.
The NBS figures show that in 2005 there were 745 million rural
residents in China, which is 57 percent of the total population.
However, their consumption volume was only 32.9 percent of the
whole nation. It was therefore important to promote the rural
economy and increase the income of rural residents, Chen said.
Chen also felt concerned over the growing gap in public services
between urban and rural areas. At present, expenditure on public
services in the countryside only takes one fourth of the national
average level; thus the government needs to greatly increase
investments in this regard, he said.
(China.org.cn by Wang Ke, July 4, 2006)
