广播听力: Permanent Arable Land Lined out to Guarantee China's Grain Sufficiency

Self-sufficiency in grain has been China's priority for decades. Recently areas of permanent arable land have been outlined out by the Ministry of Land and Resources. It's to prevent the country's arable land area from falling below the "1.8 billion Mu red line" needed to feed its people. However, experts indicate that the key still lies in how to carry out these policies.

Tingting has the report.



The national land watchdog, the Ministry of Land and Resources, has announced that a total area of 1.56 billion mu or around 104 million hectares will be permanent arable land.

The land will be under strict supervision.

Liu Mingsong(刘明松), deputy director general of the Ministry of Land and Resources, says except for key national projects, it cannot be occupied for other uses.

"Even for the land occupied by key national projects, it must be replaced with new arable land equal in both quality and size."

Zeng Xibai(曾希柏), a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says the move will facilitate the implementation of the country's policy to protect arable land.

"It further specifies China's land policy and helps tighten the control of arable land. In the past, some supplement land was not fertile. The permanent land will guarantee the quality of the major part of arable land and our grain production capacity."

China set a "red line" four years ago to guarantee that arable land would never shrink to less than 1.8 billion mu, or 120 million hectares. But over the past years, the country has already edged dangerously close to the line.
 
Although strict measures have been taken, China's quick industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization are posing dramatic challenges to land supply.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show arable land across the country dropped dramatically from 130 million hectares in 1996 to about 122 million hectares in 2008. Illegal land-use cases were still rampant last year, with a total loss of more than 10,000 hectares of farmland.

Zeng Xibai(曾希柏) with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences calls for more severe punishment for the local officials who are held responsible.

"It's fair to say that China's land policy is already well-estalished, the problem is in its implementation. With China's industrialization and urbanization, demand on land will be ever increasing. The key is to set more severe punishment for local officials to solve the problem at its root. "

Zeng Xibai suggests upgrading ordinary land into good-quality land at the same time to quench China's ever growing need for land.

For CRI, this is Tingting.