Plans laid out for farmland enhancement

High-standard areas could help boost food security, sustainable agriculture

China has introduced new measures to enhance the construction and management of high-standard farmland on permanent basic farmland, reinforcing its commitment to food security and sustainable agriculture.

The plan, jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, aims to gradually develop permanent basic farmland into high-standard farmland, with a target of completing the transformation of all suitable permanent basic farmland by 2035.

By 2030, China aims to have 90 million hectares of high-standard farmland, up from more than 66 million hectares at the end of 2023, according to the plan. The Ministry of Natural Resources reported that China's national arable land area stood at 128.7 million hectares by the end of 2023, meaning roughly 70 percent of the country's arable land will be designated as high-standard farmland by 2030.