China Says Return of Land to Forests Not to Cause Food Shortage
Copyright 2000,
Muzi.com, LatelineNews
September 1, 2000
[LatelineNews: 2000-9-1] BEIJING - The return of land reclaimed from forests and grassland in western China is unlikely to cause grain shortages, according to agronomists, Asia Pulse reported.
The latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the fall of 11 million tons in China's summer grain output was caused by serious drought and the planned reduction in sowing area rather than by the policy of returning land reclaimed from forests and grassland.
China is planning to return 3.33 million hectares of
cultivated land reclaimed from forests or grassland on hillslopes in the western region to restore the ecological environment.
As compensation, Beijing is offering between 100kg and 150kg of grain for each mu (1/15 hectare) of land returned.
According to experts, the policy is backed by ample grain reserves. Chongqing, for instance, has a commodity grain reserve of 2.1 billion kg, enough to feed all farmers involved in the city's drive to return 200,000 hectares of land once reclaimed from forests.
Meanwhile, the western region is not the main grain producing area in China. The policy is closely connected with the readjustment of agricultural structure and the cut in sowing areas of inferior grains in main grain producing areas in the east.
There are about 106.67 million hectares sown to grain in China at present and the annual output is about 500 million tons. Of the total cultivated land, a quarter is in the western part.
Furthermore, summer grain accounts for only one-fifth of the country's grain output and does not have a big impact on the grain output of the whole year. The decrease of summer grain output will only help reduce inventory, stabilise prices, lighten the burden on the government and stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for growing more and better grain.
China has set the grain output "alarming line" at 490 million tons. According to Xu Xiaoqing, deputy director of the agricultural department under the State Council Development and Research Center, an annual grain output of 480 million tons can basically meet the domestic demand.
China's main grain producing areas are Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces in northeast China, and Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui and Sichuan provinces.
To stabilise grain output, the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing "Fertile Soil Project" in 100 counties on a trial basis. By applying organic fertiliser in large areas, the grain output may increase.
Experts stress that ample grain supply is a prerequisite for the implementation of the policy of returning cultivated land once reclaimed from forests and grassland.