Improving crop productivity and resource use efficiency to ensure food security and environmental quality in China

Abstract

In recent years, agricultural growth in China has accelerated remarkably, but most of this growth has been driven by increased yield per unit area rather than by expansion of the cultivated area. Looking towards 2030, to meet the demand for grain and to feed a growing population on the available arable land, it is suggested that annual crop production should be increased to around 580 Mt and that yield should increase by at least 2% annually. Crop production will become more difficult with climate change, resource scarcity (e.g. land, water, energy, and nutrients) and environmental degradation (e.g. declining soil quality, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and surface water eutrophication). To pursue the fastest and most practical route to improved yield, the near-term strategy is application and extension of existing agricultural technologies. This would lead to substantial improvement in crop and soil management practices, which are currently suboptimal. Two pivotal components are required if we are to follow new trajectories. First, the disciplines of soil management and agronomy need to be given increased emphasis in research and teaching, as part of a grand food security challenge. Second, continued genetic improvement in crop varieties will be vital. However, our view is that the biggest gains from improved technology will come most immediately from combinations of improved crops and improved agronomical practices. The objectives of this paper are to summarize the historical trend of crop production in China and to examine the main constraints to the further increase of crop productivity. The paper provides a perspective on the challenge faced by science and technology in agriculture which must be met both in terms of increased crop productivity but also in increased resource use efficiency and the protection of environmental quality.

Restoring Soil Quality to Mitigate Soil Degradation

“…Since the 1980s, China has bridged the yield gap, alleviated poverty and improved soil quality [108]. Nonetheless, environmental issues remain to be addressed, effectively and immediately, to make China's agricultural revolution a successful venture [109].…”

Impacts of soil and water pollution on food safety and health risks in China

“…The most serious water shortage in the main grain production areas is located in the North China Plain with 33.8% of the national arable land but only 3.85% of the national water resources. As a result, the water table has fallen steadily due to intensive agriculture and industry uses over the past 40 years (Li, 2010;Fan et al, 2011).…”

“…Most research papers to date have focused on the relationships between crop yield and water resources (Wang et al, 2008b;Piao et al, 2010;Peng, 2011), water use efficiency (Deng et al, 2006;Fan et al, 2011), infrastructure (Lohmar et al, 2003), agricultural management (Hu et al, 2006) and climate change (Piao et al, 2010;Grassini and Cassman, 2012;Wei et al, 2014), while few studies have investigated the effects of surface water pollution on grain quality at the national scale. There are clear implications for sustainably managing available water supplies, understanding the nature and magnitude of demands, analyzing the factors affecting water quality, and developing policies to ensure continued growth in agricultural production.…”

Remote sensing of environmental change over China: A review

“…Among the many indicators affecting food security in China, there is even not a total cropland area statistics based on remote sensing. Many studies must use the highly debatable figure of crop land area provided in the governmental report [87].…”