China's drive to modern agriculture

The Chinese government noted recently that there are only 0.09 hectares of arable land available per capita, and that with urbanisation increasing the amount of arable land for growing food is shrinking. Nor did it see the extended use of fertiliser and pesticides as a solution, because of the long-term damage to the environment.

Instead, China has developed a multi-faceted plan to ensure long-term and healthy agricultural devel?opment that is focused on innova?tion in science and technology, education, investment, rural development and trade expansion.

In education, the government is providing financial support for students majoring in agricultural science, developing free polytechnic schools for training rural technicians.

For rural development, it is encouraging local governments to improve rural infrastructure, while the China Development Bank (CDB) plans to extend 200 billion yuan (Bt 930 billion) in agricultural loans over the duration of the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015). Beijing is also actively trying to attract foreign investment in agriculture and more trade in agricultural produce. Reflecting such initiatives, China’s agricultural imports rose by nearly 30 per cent last year and it expects to become the world’s biggest importer of agricultural produce within two to three years. 

China’s focus on sustainable agriculture presents enormous possibilities for Thailand, as we are a close neighbour, a major global food producer, and a major trading partner. In terms of agricultural products, Thailand is currently China’s ninth-largest supplier and its 10th-largest export market.

To achieve further cooperation in agriculture between our two countries, in April a Thai delegation led by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited China and met with Dr. Li Jia-yang, the Chinese Vice Minister of Agriculture. 

The meeting identified many potential areas of cooperation, including animal and plant genetic resources, horticulture, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, biotechnology, integrated pest management, disease control, nutriology, agricultural mechanisation and agricultural economics. Princess Sirindhorn also proposed a seminar on agricultural science and technology to boost cooperation and exchanges between scientists from the two countries. She expressed hope that the two sides could strengthen cooperation on agricultural education, encourage mutual visits and training of scientists, and launch student exchange programs at the graduate level. 

Agriculture is a mainstay of the Thai economy and it is clear that a healthy rural sector and stable food prices will help with the Kingdom’s social stability. It is therefore very encouraging to see these mutual exchanges at the very highest level. I hope Thailand studies the various initiatives China is taking to build its own agricultural industry, as they are also relevant in our country and they would be helpful as we set about building our own modern agriculture sector.