China may have problem feeding its 1.3-billion population in the
future if the current trend of farmland loss can not be effectively
curbed, an official has warned.
"From 1996 to 2004, China's arable land dwindled from 1.951
billion mu (130 million hectares) to 1.837 billion
mu (122 million hectares), with an annual average decrease
of 14.25 million mu (950,000 hectares)," said Fan
Xiaojian, vice minister of Agriculture, on the sidelines of the
ongoing annual full session of the 10th National People's Congress
(NPC),
the Chinese legislature.
In the remaining 1.837 billion mu of arable land, only
some 1.56 billion to 1.6 billion mu (104 million to 106
million hectares)is used for grain production, Fan added.
"With the current area of farmland, it is a fairly difficult
mission to guarantee the country's safe grain supply," conceded the
vice minister.
However, he pointed out that last year the central government
imposed much stricter restrictions on the acquisition of farmland
for construction purposes, and the arable land loss for 2005 was
sharply reduced to 5.4 million mu (360,000 hectares).
"If this good momentum can be maintained in the next five years,
we can foresee a comparatively optimistic future," said Fan.
In his cabinet work report delivered at the opening of the
current NPC session, Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao said his government would continue to practice the
"strictest possible" land management system for farmland
protection.
China recorded an overall grain output of 484 million tons and
is expecting to stabilize its annual grain production at around 500
million tons.
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(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2006)