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China's arable land under threat

Nature Food volume 6, pages 417–418 (2025)Cite this article

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Despite such safeguards and a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy for illegal land occupation — among other measures to prevent the ‘non-agriculturalization’ of arable land and the ‘non-food cultivation’ of basic farmland3 — illegal occupation of arable land persists. In 2021 and 2022, inspections by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources uncovered 112 cases of illegal occupation of arable land, including unauthorized sand extraction, the illegal conversion of permanent basic farmland for aquaculture ponds, and the dumping of silt and gravel on arable land, all of which led to the degradation of soil conditions for cultivation4. These cases revealed weak enforcement and oversight by local governments and departmental leaders, whose lack of awareness or negligence facilitated illegal farmland occupation. Worse still, some local governments and departments have actively facilitated illegal farmland occupation for projects such as lake excavation, landscaping and afforestation. In Handan, Hebei Province, the Water Resources Bureau unlawfully occupied 330 ha, including 294 ha of permanent basic farmland, to construct a scenic park and greenbelt5. Similarly, the Xiangzhou District government in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, illegally used 107 ha of farmland, including 22.6 ha of permanent basic farmland, for afforestation5.

Illegal occupation of arable land remains prevalent in rural China, with 76,173 ha being used for illegal purposes by the end of 2019, more than 10% of which involved basic farmland6. Urban expansion and economic growth are key drivers of farmland loss, as the profits from selling land or building houses on arable land often far exceed the returns from agricultural production, perpetuating illegal land use.

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References

  1. China launches campaign to boost grain output. State Council of the People's Republic of China https://go.nature.com/3GgIbKI (2024).

  2. The 11th five-year plan for national economic and social development of the People's Republic of China. State Council of the People's Republic of China https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2006/content_268766.htm (2006).

  3. Resolutely prevent the "non-agriculturalization" of arable land. State Council of the People's Republic of China https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2020-09/15/content_5543645.htm (2020).

  4. Strictly safeguarding the arable land red line: typical cases of negligence in farmland protection reported across regions. Xinhua News https://www.news.cn/politics/2023-08/31/c_1129837090.htm (2023).

  5. The ministry of natural resources reports 45 typical cases of land-use violations and illegal activities. people.cn http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2022/1130/c1004-32577697.html (2022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

    Mingrong Liang, Yuling Liang, Yunbo Song, Jingxin Hong, Yongyue Lu & Lei Wang

  2. Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou, China

    Mingrong Liang, Yuling Liang, Yunbo Song, Jingxin Hong, Yongyue Lu & Lei Wang

  3. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Mingrong Liang

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  1. Mingrong Liang
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  2. Yuling Liang
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Correspondence to Mingrong Liang.

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Liang, M., Liang, Y., Song, Y. et al. China's arable land under threat. Nat Food 6, 417–418 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01169-0

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