Land Resources

Pressure

Fig. 13 Trends of Chinese Farmland Areas in the past Five Decades

With the farmland only accounting for 7 percent of the world, China supports 22 percent of the world population. Due to the increasing population, industrialization, and urbanization, the demand for land resources has been gradually growing. The per capita usable land resources of China is very low; only 0.078 hectares, and will continuously decrease in quantity and quality. A shortage in land resources has become the major limitation to the sustainable economic and social development of China.

Due to the population growth, industrial development, and improper use of agricultural chemicals, poor soil quality and reduction of cultivated area were the main problems affecting the use of cultivated land in China.