Teaching Comparative

Food, farming, and affluence in China

Melody Dickison pointed me to two articles in the Financial Times (London) about farming, food, and growing affluence in China.

The articles reminded me of one bit of introduction I've used when teaching about China. I display a map showing that China and the USA were about the same size. Then I point out that China has nearly 5 times as many people as the US. I then present the statistics that 18% of the land in the US is arable, while only 15% of China's land is arable. My question to the students about to begin studying about China is, "How is it that China is self-sufficient in feeding its people?" Discussions were always interesting and nearly always informative.

Here's some of the latest on that topic (thanks, Melody):

New eating habits force revolution on China's farms

"China, a small net exporter of rice and largely selfsufficient in wheat, has been something of a spectator in the global food crisis of recent months, with Beijing's role confined to tightening scrutiny of exports to prevent profiteering...

"But the short-term calm... belies the long-term pressures on Chinese agriculture, which are on the verge of triggering revolutions in the way China trades and farms its food. Those pressures could even send it offshore in search of arable land.

"The Chinese are getting richer and, like their western counterparts, eating more meat, which in turn is spurring a surge in demand for foodstuffs to feed a growing population of pigs and other livestock.

"With 21 per cent of the world's population, 9 per cent of its arable land and below-average and poorly distributed water resources, China is already unable to supply enough homegrown animal feed...

"Although analysts disagree on the timing of China's emergence as an importer of all grains, few doubt that Beijing will be forced to modify its longstanding policy of self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs to meet demand...

"But just as important, and largely overlooked, in a debate on food that concentrates on trade is another revolution in Chinese agriculture happening at grassroots level among 700m-odd farmers and their families.

"Liu Yonghao... made his first $1m, and more, in the 1990s from feeding pigs.

"Mr Liu... says China's fractured system of tiny farms, each selling its output separately, will inevitably die.

"'The gap between the modern industrial and urban economy and the small peasant economy is getting larger and larger. We need to modernise farming, and that means scale,' he says.

"'All the recent problems with inflation and food safety relate to our working system. How can we supervise a system with 200m production units that each raises four or five pigs?'..."

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And speaking of going "offshore in search of arable land."

China eyes overseas land in food push

"Chinese companies will be encouraged to buy farmland abroad, particularly in Africa and South America, to help guarantee food security under a plan being considered by Beijing.

"A proposal drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture would make supporting offshore land acquisition by domestic agricultural companies a central government policy. Beijing already has similar policies to boost offshore investment by state-owned banks, manufacturers and oil companies...

"If approved, the plan could face intense opposition abroad given surging global food prices and deforestation fears...

“'China must "go out" because our land resources are limited,' said Jiang Wenlai, of the China Agricultural Science Institute. 'It will be a win-win solution that will benefit both parties by making the maximum use of the advantages of both sides.'..."

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Labels: China, economics, politics

posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:30 AM