Advances in Chinese Agriculture and its Global Implications

In the past thirty years, China has made great strides in terms of boosting food production while simultaneously reducing the number of its rural poor. This success was largely accomplished through agricultural policy and trade reform, food market liberalization, and public investment in agricultural infrastructure and agricultural research. However, there is much more economic development work to be done in rural China, as issues such as an aging agricultural workforce, land-use rights, and water shortages persist. At the same time, increased urbanization and the rising middle class are changing the demand for food in China. This article outlines the issues facing Chinese agriculture and connects those issues to the global marketplace.