Decades of intense agricultural production have left China's soil seriously polluted and its water depleted. Wang Shiyuan, the vice-minister of land and resources, recently told a news briefing that about 3.33 million hectares of China’s farmland is too polluted to grow crops. The contaminated area is roughly the size of Belgium.
The deteriorating environment adds to the immense pressure to produce more food. Imports of corn, rice and wheat have more than doubled over the past three years. In October 2013, the US Department of Agriculture predicted that by the end of the year China would have imported 23 million tonnes of grain. The overall grain self-sufficiency rate is now less than 90%, well below the target of 95%
“China has moved from being self-sufficient in grain a few years ago to being very close to the world’s leading grain importer,” said Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental think tank based in Washington, D.C.
China is set to become more dependent on imported grains, oilseeds and meat, according to a recent report published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the OECD. It described feeding China in the context of its resource constraints as a “daunting” task.
Brown said the Chinese leadership is well aware of the political risks associated with increased food imports. Between 2007 and 2008 export restrictions in major producer countries drove up food prices, a situation that led to civil unrest in several nations.
“China no longer considers food security as one secluded country,” said Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “We must also utilise the international market for more food. The leadership views food security in a new light and this is a good change.”
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