China's farmland well above 'red line'

BEIJING - China is on track to meet its target of having 1.818 billion mu of farmland (121.2 million hectares) by the end of 2015, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said on Wednesday.

China's total area of arable land stood at 2.027 billion mu at the end of 2013, showed the most up-to-date MLS data.

The 2015 "red line" target was set to ensure grain security as accelerating urbanization has threatened to encroach on farmland.

On Wednesday, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences forecast that grain production would rise 0.5 percent on an annual basis this year, down from a 0.9 percent rise last year, indicating an increasing challenge for the country to maintain development in agriculture.

The central government allocated 24.59 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) in 2014 to improve the quality of farmland and boost grain production, said the MLR.p China saw an increase in new farmland of 3.83 million mu in 2014, and the amount of land approved for urban construction last year reached 6.06 million mu, down 24.4 percent year on year.

The ministry pledged to continue rigorously protecting farmland and to do more work to curb worsening soil pollution.