Economic Daily Jin Guanping: Unswervingly Adhere to the Red Line of Farmland Use | Farmland | Red Line
June 25th is the 33rd National Land Day, and this year's theme is "Conserve and Intensive Land Use, Strictly Adhere to the Red Line of Cultivated Land". It once again emphasizes the importance of conserving and intensive land use, especially using "long teeth" hard measures to protect cultivated land. Why is farmland protection so valued?
The people do not eat unless they have grain, and the grain does not grow unless it is on the land. Cultivated land is the lifeblood of food production. China's grain production has achieved nineteen consecutive abundant harvests, and the grain output has remained above 1.3 trillion kilograms for many consecutive years. Preliminary data from the National Land Change Survey shows that the trend of decreasing total arable land over the years has also been initially curbed. In 2022, there was a net increase of 1.3 million mu of arable land in China, marking another net increase after the total amount of arable land increased in 2021.
It should be noted that in terms of quantity, the total arable land area in China is still tightening, and the contradiction of more people and less land is still very prominent. The per capita arable land scale is only equivalent to 40% of the European Union and 400% of the United States. "One acre and three parts of land per capita, and only ten acres of farmland per household" is a true portrayal of agriculture in many places.
From a quality perspective, the Announcement on the Main Data Results of the 2016 National Farmland Quality Grade Update Evaluation shows that the average grade of arable land quality in China is 9.96, with only 39.89% of the assessed arable land area above the average grade and 60.11% below the average grade. That is to say, about 60% of China's arable land quality is not high.
The rapid development of China's economy has also generated a significant demand for land. At present, China's total economic output has exceeded 120 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world. The contradiction between the demand for land and the hard constraints on land supply in economic development is becoming increasingly prominent. In 2022, the urbanization rate of China's permanent population was 65.22%, lower than the level of 80% to 90% in developed countries. In the future, the process of population urbanization still needs to increase the scale of urban construction land, and the demand for land resources for economic and social development such as infrastructure construction will continue to grow. Moreover, the trend of resource development and utilization in China, which is mainly focused on increment and expansion, has not been fundamentally reversed.
In addition, the trend of non grainification of cultivated land in some areas of China in recent years is worth being vigilant about. In some places, the adjustment of agricultural structure is simply understood as reducing grain production, and some business entities illegally plant trees and dig ponds on permanent basic farmland. Moreover, some industrial and commercial capital has transferred farmland to non grain crops on a large scale.
Currently, the external situation is unpredictable and the international agricultural product market is frequently fluctuating. With the upgrading of consumption structure and the tightening of resource and environmental carrying capacity, China's grain production and demand will still be in a tight balance in the future. In this situation, we must attach great importance to food security and ensure basic self-sufficiency of grains and absolute food security.
Therefore, in terms of land issues, it is necessary to balance development and protection, firmly promote conservation and intensification, and unwaveringly abide by the red line of cultivated land. We need to reduce the occupation of arable land by various construction projects from the source, strictly control the addition of new land, and achieve dual control over the total amount and intensity of land use. Accelerate the construction of a comprehensive responsibility system for the protection of arable land, where both the Party and the government share the same responsibility. On the basis of stabilizing the total amount, optimize the layout of cultivated land through planned restoration. Strictly implement the farmland use control of "farmland is farmland", strictly regulate the balance of farmland occupation and compensation, resolutely curb the "non agriculturalization" of farmland, and prevent the "non grainification" of farmland. At the same time, it is strictly prohibited to simplify the "one size fits all" approach and effectively safeguard the rights and interests of the masses.
