China has placed 103 million hectares of agricultural land under permanent protection

Almaty. September 21. Silkroadnews – China has placed 103 million hectares of agricultural land under permanent protection, China Daily reported.
“China has put 103.3 million hectares of farmland under permanent protection, stating that the areas should not be used for non-farming purposes,” the report said.
According to the Ministry of Land Resources of the PRC, 2,887 counties across the country were instructed to define specific land plots that would be placed under permanent protection of the government. At the same time, the allocated areas were even slightly larger than the target set in the country’s land-use plan for 2006-2020.
The move, as noted, is undertaken by the government to prevent the use of farmland for non-farming purposes, such as construction, as this could threaten the country’s food security.
According to the publication, at the end of 2016 China had about 135 million hectares of agricultural land, which is 76,900 hectares less than in 2015.
“China must retain at least 124.3 million hectares of farmland in 2020, under a new target set by the MLR in 2016, which is above a government red line of 120 million hectares,” the publication reads.