Areas of Sino-Indian Cooperation in Agriculture: Problems and Prospects

VI
The crunch in the agricultural resource base is evidently turning ever critical. The arable area has touched the near warning level of 122.4 million hectares. It has forced the Chinese State Council to suspend the much talked reforestation programme of 1.07 million hectares. The fate of 267,000 hectares of marginal farm land, slated to put to reforestation campaing hangs in balance as the public out cry is getting lauder. The government has since set per annum loss of farm land to urbanization and industtrialization besides reforestation to 433,333 hectares. In 2006, reforestation and urbanization had repectively consumed 339, 333 hectares and 258, 333 hectares.
China had launched its reforestation programm in 2000. It was set to involve 124 million farmers from 32 million households across 25 provinces and Autonomous regions.