Slight increase in farmland, limited influence on policy
中国耕地多出2亿亩 国土部称仍需坚守红线

The amount of farmland has increased slightly to around 135 million hectares from the last survey in 1996. But per capita farmland size is falling -- what does it mean for future government policies to ensure food security? Our reporter Yin Yue took a very expensive cab ride to outer Beijing to get the take from farmers and analysts.

If you’ve been growing strawberries for more than 20 years, like Mr. Liu Chengliang, like him, you’ve probably started your own farm like his, which lies in the outskirts of Beijing.

Liu’s 21 greenhouses take up 6 hectares of land. but not every farmer has this luxury...New data from China’s land and natural resources shows China’s agricultural acreage now takes up about 14% of the country’s territory, rose 0.5% from the previous survey...and this is not that significant.

However the rise in agricultural acreage has failed to raise experts’ optimism for Chinese agriculture...

In terms of policy, land transfer is now a key issue. Large agricultural companies that can produce crops more efficiently can now take up land from farmers like Liu Chengliang, who himself took it over from the county government.