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Limited Resources
Growing need for higher productivity
 China’s food production is limited by scarce resources including arable land and water, as well as chemical residue issues and increasing urban sprawl. As more efficient production methods and varieties are adopted, China’s food production levels will increase. However, in the Shandong Province, which produces a large share of China’s food exports, 30 percent of village leaders report that their wells do not have enough water at some point during the year.
Furthermore, chemical residues from industrial pollution and past overuse of pesticides and fertilizer, limit the land area available to grow high quality crops. In addition, small farm sizes (less than one acre) and the farmer’s lack of financial resources and education limit the adoption of more efficient technologies including modern water saving irrigation technologies and high yielding hybrid crops.
| ARABLE LAND PER CAPITA
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| Source: The Ministry of Land and Resources |
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| WATER-RESOURCE PER CAPITA
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| Source: The Statistical Yearbook, China Pop
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China boasts 9.6 million square km of land area, while arable land only accounts for 14% of the total. On a per capita basis that is less than half of the world average.
About 30% of cultivatable land is affected by soil erosion. It is also dwindling owing to the recent construction boom, leading to a serious imbalance between arable land and population. |
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