China has enacted its first dedicated law to protect and improve farmland, aiming to strengthen national food security amid growing global uncertainties. The legislation, passed by China’s top legislative body on Friday, will come into effect at the start of next year. It introduces stricter controls on the use of arable land and promotes the development of new farmland, reflecting Beijing’s intensified focus on self-sufficiency amid climate change and geopolitical conflicts that have heightened concerns over food supplies worldwide.
Designated by President Xi Jinping as the “lifeblood” of food production, China’s arable land is a finite resource relative to its population of approximately 1.4 billion. The law seeks to halt the ongoing conversion of farmland for non-agricultural purposes, address the reclamation of wasteland, and improve low-quality saline-alkali soils. These aims respond to persistent challenges, including widespread loss of grain-producing land and pressure from urbanisation.
Under the new legal framework, provincial governments are required to maintain the total area of arable land within their jurisdictions, enhance land quality, and preserve ecological functions. The law reinforces prior government mandates that any farmland lost to other uses must be compensated by an equivalent area restored elsewhere. To enforce these provisions, the government will utilize satellite remote sensing and cloud computing technologies for real-time monitoring.
The legislation also encourages innovation in land use, particularly the transformation of saline-alkali soils to productive farmland and the cultivation of salt-tolerant crops. It highlights the potential of expanding agricultural production on non-traditional arable lands such as deserts, provided water resources are accessible.
The move comes amid heightened global risks stemming from recent regional conflicts, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as emerging climate phenomena like a potential super El Niño. Major financial institutions including HSBC and JPMorgan have recently warned of tighter global food supplies and rising prices, attributing these trends in part to sustained disruptions and extreme weather.
Alongside the farmland protection law, China’s legislature approved amendments to the Agriculture Law that aim to enhance food security, boost farmers’ incomes, and accelerate agricultural modernisation.
China has long regarded the preservation of its farmland as a national “red line” in efforts to ensure food supply for its large population. Official data indicate that farmland area has increased by about 1.5 percent between 2020 and 2024, underscoring recent policy successes in stabilizing arable land despite ongoing development pressures.