Food security and food self‐sufficiency in China: from past to 2050

Abstract

Reducing hunger and malnutrition and improving food security have come to the forefront of global political agenda. In the wake of recent spells of food price hike, national and supranational development organizations and governments have begun to express serious concerns about the world's capacity to feed its burgeoning population. In response to the target of increasing food production by 70% in 2050, many countries are formulating their agricultural policies to promote domestic food self‐sufficiency and many are building international networks for outsourcing food supply beyond national borders. In the face of massive demand for food for its growing population, China is both strengthening its food self‐sufficiency strategies and relying on large‐scale imports from international market which has been a major driver of food price inflation in recent years. In China, increase in income and socioeconomic status on one hand have dramatically improved dietary intake and overall nutritional status of the population, and are creating an enormous pressure on land and water resources and natural environments on the other. Maintaining food and water security and for its huge population with its limited resources while at the same time sustaining the economic growth momentum are offering significant challenges to China's macroeconomic prospects. China's domestic food production and self‐sufficiency status have certain repercussions on the volatility of global agri‐food market and food security in food‐import and food‐aid‐dependent countries. The objectives of this study is to provide an in‐depth overview of China's food production and demand scenario with a particular focus on its challenging perspectives toward food secure 2050. The first half of the paper is designed to show recent trends in food production and consumption and the impacts on global food market. The second half describes the major challenges with a brief discussion on policy implication.