Empirical analysis on the influence of the Shaanxi fruit industry on regional food security

Transcription

1 This article was downloaded by: [ ] On: 13 January 2012, At: 04:48 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: Registered office: Mortimer House, Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Empirical analysis on the influence of the Shaanxi fruit industry on regional food security Jianping Li a & Zhouping Shangguan a b a College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, Yangling Shaanxi, China b State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling Shaanxi, China Available online: 24 Nov 2010 To cite this article: Jianping Li & Zhouping Shangguan (2010): Empirical analysis on the influence of the Shaanxi fruit industry on regional food security, International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 17:6, To link to this article: PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

2 International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology Vol. 17, No. 6, December 2010, Empirical analysis on the influence of the Shaanxi fruit industry on regional food security Jianping Li a and Zhouping Shangguan a,b * a College of Agronomy, Northwest A & F University, Yangling Shaanxi, China; b State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling Shaanxi, China As part of its development policy to relieve rural poverty in west China, the Chinese government has introduced measures such as agricultural tax exemptions, agricultural subsidies, and scientific, technological and restructuring improvements to agriculture. Following these actions, farmers incomes have increased greatly and the economy in poor areas of west China has seen rapid improvements. However, agricultural restructuring, infrastructure construction and ecological restoration projects have reduced the area of land under arable farming, restricting opportunities for increasing total grain yield. Regional food security is therefore threatened and an imbalance between economic development and food security is created. Shaanxi is a representative province in west China where agricultural restructuring has resulted in large areas of arable land being converted into orchards that produce higher economic returns. This study randomly surveyed 1430 farm households in three counties in the apple-producing region of Shaanxi Province (Luochuan, Changwu and Baishui). The standard of living and household income of farmers in the fruit production areas were higher than in grain-producing areas, thus discouraging grain production. Land under agriculture in the counties studied comprised 59% orchards and 39% arable, with 2% under other uses. Per capita, kg of grain was produced, 51% of that required for self-sufficiency. Other staple foods produced amounted to only 13.9% of that needed for self-sufficiency. As a result, nearly half of the grain needed by the community was purchased from outside, resulting in very poor regional food security. Clearly, fruit production in this region seriously affects regional food security. Coordination of relationships between rural economic development and regional food security is key for sustainable development of the regional agriculture and economy of west China. Keywords: food security; farm household; grain self-sufficiency; agricultural restructuring; west China Introduction Food security has recently become of widely recognised importance and has developed into a coherent subject involving both social and natural sciences (Huang et al. 2002; FAO 2007). Ensuring national and household food security has become a real challenge in developing countries (Chabot and Dorosh 2007). Ways of developing proper coordination between food security and national economic issues have recently been analysed in socioeconomic terms (Borlaug 2007; Wang et al. 2008; Yi and Duan 2008). In addition, the efficiency of grain production has been studied to explore how to maintain sustainable agricultural development and increase grain yields, while managing the relationship between production and material and energy inputs (Lobell and Asner 2003; Li 2008). Grain production, quality and yield are key factors that directly affect regional and national food security. China is the world s largest developing country, with a population of more than 1.3 billion. Its food demand is higher than that of any other country, so that its grain supply and demand has a global influence on food security beyond China itself (Brown 1995; Feng et al. 2005; Feng and Shi 2006; Chen 2007). Promoting stable grain production and safeguarding food security are among the most challenging tasks that China faces in its future economic and social development. Arable land provides the basis for grain production and farmers incomes, and a shortage of supply constrains not only grain production but also opportunities for agricultural restructuring. The amount of arable land per capita in China is very limited compared with the world average. Since the implementation of the Grain for Green Project (GGP) in 1999, the amount of arable land available has been reduced because of ecological restoration projects, land taken for construction and agricultural restructuring, and natural disasters (Zhou et al. 2009). Recently, agricultural restructuring has been an increasingly important factor in the reduction of farmland available for arable use. From 2003 to 2008, 3.70 million ha of arable land were used for ecological restoration, amounting to 72% of the total farmland lost to uses other than farming; 0.68 million ha of farmland were used for construction, accounting for 13% of the total farmland lost; and 0.59 million ha were used in agricultural restructuring, accounting for 11% of the total farmland lost (Yi and Hao 2008). However, since the Chinese government declared policies to deal with the three rural issues (farmers, rural areas and agriculture), raising the incomes of farmers and developing the rural economy have become primary areas of concern. In order to increase the overall benefit from arable land, and help farmers increase their incomes and develop their local economy, the Chinese government has promoted agricultural restructuring, so that more and more farmland has been used to plant orchards and cash crops. The Land Resource Bureau has forecast *Corresponding author. shangguan@ms.iswc.ac.cn ISSN print/issn online 2010 Taylor & Francis DOI: /

3 508 J. Li and Z. Shangguan that from 2008 to 2030, up to million ha of arable land will be converted to non-farming purposes, of which, 37% would go to ecological restoration, 35% to construction and 27% to agricultural restructuring (Ma and Lan 2008). In order to develop their rural economies, local governments choose economic gains at the expense of valuable arable land resources. In addition, the Chinese government may intervene to promote agricultural restructuring and favour arable land conversion to non-farming purposes (Chen et al. 2007; Erik and Ding 2008), a practice also common in India, Argentina, New Zealand, Kazakhstan and elsewhere (Johnsen 2004; Morgan et al. 2006; Braimoh 2009). Conversion of arable land to other uses is especially common in the less developed regions of developing countries, such as the western part of China (Zhen et al. 2008), where governments and farmers collude in farmland conversion and restructuring to increase the farmer s family income. Arable land resources are seriously threatened and the contradictions between economic development, arable land reduction and food security become more severe. Arable land is frequently given over to cash crops such as: vineyards in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions in west China, sunflower and medick in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China, banana and citrus in south China, fruit trees in Shaanxi and Gansu in central China, etc. Because of the growth of the fruit industry in Shaanxi since 1979, it has become a major player in Chinese fruit production and processing. At present, its regional apple production ranks third in China, and accounts for one-eighth of the apples produced worldwide (GOVnet 2009). This development of the province s fruit industry has played an important and decisive role in solving its three rural issues, developing its regional economy and improving its farmers standard of living. In this province, the income derived from fruit farming can be five times more than that from arable, and the per capita net income in fruit-growing areas is 4000 RMB (Statistical Bureau of Luochuan 2008). The fruit industry not only raises farmers income and alleviates rural poverty, but also generates industrial spin-offs, creating employment opportunities for non-agricultural workers in fruit processing, storage and transportation. Planting large-scale orchards helps to control soil and water loss, fix sandy soils in the Loess Plateau, and provides strong support for the Three- North Shelterbelt Program operating in the western part of northeast China, and the northern parts of north and northwest China. However, as the fruit industry grows and more arable land is converted, its impact on regional food security becomes increasingly severe. Liberalisation of the grain market and stable domestic food production means that farmers can purchase foods according to their needs at any time. As they take for granted that money is food, so they convert further farmland into orchards for increased financial returns. Because fruit farmers enjoy higher incomes and can safeguard their food security through purchasing power, their income becomes an important factor guaranteeing their grain security, rather than their growing grain locally (Ye and An 2009). Furthermore, farmers growing crops other than grain and fruit also generally earn sufficient money to be able to buy the grain that they need at market. In summary, the result is that farmers are not interested in pursuing grain production. But food security on a macro (national) level is not equivalent to that on a micro (household) level, and national food security must be achieved through the sum total of farmers agricultural production behaviour. Although the standard of living of fruit farmers is improved, and economic development in the fruit production areas is increased, the fruit industry consumes a large area of arable land, thereby severely affecting grain production and leading to a conflict between macro-level grain security and local economic development. Our study looked at the dynamics of grain production and the fruit industry in Shaanxi, with a focus on the apple-producing counties of Luochuan, Changwu and Baishui. We surveyed households, studied grain production and the influence of new large orchards on food security, and explored the relationship between economic development and food security. We provide strong evidence of the need for an emergency plan to ensure grain security and sustainable development. Methods and data sources Characteristics of the study area Shaanxi is a narrow, north south territory, located at E and N, in the transitional zone between the sub-humid eastern region and the arid western region of China (Figure 1). From north to south, it has three climatic zones: temperate, warm temperate and subtropical. It has complex landforms, which fall into three main geographical units from north to south: the northern Loess Plateau area; the central Guanzhong Plain area; and the southern Qinling Mountains area (Shangguan et al. 1999), which account for 38.92%, 26.96% and 34.12% of its total area, respectively. The first two units are covered by loess and comprise one of China s major dry farmland areas, where 80% of the farming is practiced without irrigation. Shaanxi Province has grazing and farming in the north, typical dryland farming in the north to central parts, irrigated farming in the central part and rice-dominated farming in the subtropical southern part. It has well developed cropping systems, uses up to date technology, and has million ha of farmland that account for 33.49% of the farmland in China. The agricultural structure of Shaanxi can be taken as a microcosm of agriculture in China, and as a significant case study of food security in China generally. Survey and research methods First, we interviewed the agricultural authorities in each county to obtain an overview of their orchards and

4 International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 509 Figure 1. Location of the study area and the apple production region in Shaanxi Province. arable land. We determined the locations and agricultural characteristics of townships in their county, and screened target townships, to ensure that our research samples were representative. Second, the officials and farmers in the selected townships were asked to determine suitable target villages. Third, the officials and farmers of the target villages were interviewed in person regarding their orchards, arable land and their farmers living conditions. At least 15% of all the households in a target village were interviewed, taking care to survey both poor and rich households. Finally, households in each target village were chosen at random for detailed face-to-face interviews to discover the grain production habits and living conditions of farmers following planting of large orchards, as well as to collect their views on agricultural restructuring-related problems. In July 2009, three counties in the Loess Plateau north of the Wei River Luchuan, Changwu and Baishui were surveyed. The survey involved: 6 townships, 22 administrative villages and 329 households in Luochuan County; 11 townships, 35 administrative villages and 510 households in Changwu County; and 11 townships, 34 administrative villages and 511 farmers in Baishui County. The survey covered 1430 households in total. Data collection and processing The data for this study come from the face-to-face interviews with households, and the Statistic books of Shaanxi. The data were processed with Origin 8.0. Results and analysis Grain production in Shaanxi The overall arable land area of Shaanxi has decreased since 1978, the decline having intensified since the beginning of this century (Figure 2a). The arable land area dropped from million ha in 1978 to million ha in 2008, a net decrease of million ha during the past 30 years, with a loss of 36,000 ha of arable land each year on average. Since the implementation of the GGP in 1999, the area of arable land has declined more sharply. A total of 383,000 ha of arable land was lost from 1999 to 2002, amounting to 35% of the total lost over the past 30 years. Since 2003, the decrease in arable land area has been slower. Studies on the grain yield, grain yield per capita and grain crop planting area in Shaanxi in the past 30 years indicate that grain output of the province has increased slowly and erratically (Figure 2b). Although the total grain output increased from 8 million tons in 1978 to million tons in 2008, the output fluctuated from year to year because of natural disasters. The per capita grain yield of Shaanxi increased year by year, doubling from 1785 kg ha 1 in 1978 to 3558 kg ha 1 in 2008 (Figure 2c). The area planted with grain has decreased since 1978, and more rapidly from 1999 to It briefly increased slightly and then declined from 2004 to 2008 (Figure 2d). Since Shaanxi implemented the GGP and encouraged the planting of orchards, its arable land area has decreased rapidly and its grain yield per unit of land has increased rapidly, so maintaining its total grain yield of about 10 million tons through increased yield per hectare. Orchards in Shaanxi Shaanxi went through three stages in the development of its fruit industry. The initial stage in the early 1980s, the great jump stage in the mid-1980s, and the scale development stage in the 1990s. In 1978, there were 98,000 ha of orchards in Shaanxi, rising to 951,000 ha by the end of 2008, a nearly 10-fold increase in 30 years (Figure 3). Fruit production increased year by year, with a 32-fold increase from 0.33 million tons in 1978 to million tons in 2008, with the most rapid increase occurring during the 1990s. Fruit production is the leading industry in Shaanxi Province. Food security of Shaanxi Since 1979, the per capita arable land area of Shaanxi has decreased, sharply at first and then more slowly in recent years. The per capita arable land area was ha in 1978, and only ha by the end of 2008 (Figure 4a) due to the increase in population and reduction in farmland area. This is lower than the national average of ha. In the past 30 years, the per capita grain yield has generally fluctuated at about 300 ± 50 kg, although the value has been below 300 kg more frequently in recent years (Figure 4b). The per capita grain yield fluctuations have sometimes been extreme, increasing from 260 kg in 1995 (the lowest in nearly 30 years) to kg in 1998 (a record high). The

5 510 J. Li and Z. Shangguan Figure 2. Figure 3. Arable land area (million ha) Grain yield per hectare (tons/ha) (a) (c) Total yields of grain (million tons) Grain planting area (million ha) (b) (d) Arable land area, grain yield, yield per unit area and grain planting area from 1978 to 2008 in Shaanxi Province. Area of orchards (thousand ha) Area Production 0 Orchard area and production from 1978 to 2008 in Shaanxi Province Production (10 4 tons) population of Shaanxi has continued to grow exponentially, from million at the end of 1978 to million in 2008, a 9.63 million population increase and an average annual net population increase of 321,000 (Figure 4c). The population growth and sharp drop in per capita arable land threatens Shaanxi with a future decrease in per capita grain yield and reduced food security. Empirical survey analysis Orchards and grain crop planting area In the study area (Luochuan, Changwu and Baishui counties), the total agricultural land comprised 39% arable and 59% orchards (Figure 5). In Luochuan County, where agricultural restructuring is greatest, the orchard and arable land areas accounted for 80% and 19% of the agricultural land, respectively. In Changwu County, the orchard and arable land areas accounted for 57% and 42% of the agricultural land, respectively. In Baishui County, the orchard and arable land areas accounted for 40% and 58% of the agricultural land, respectively. The three counties, once mainly grain producers as well as grain exporters, are no longer self-sufficient in grain production, needing to import grain from outside the region. Impact of the fruit industry on grain production The per capita grain yields of the three counties differed significantly (Table 1). The average per capita grain yield and grain self-sufficiency rate was kg and 51%,

6 International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 511 Per capita arable land (ha) Per capita grain yields (kg) Population (million) (a) (b) (c) Figure 4. Per capita arable land, per capita grain yield and population in Shaanxi Province ( ). Percentage Figure 5. region. Orchard Max Mean Min Survey result Max Mean Min Arable land Percentage of arable land and orchard land in the study respectively. Corn and wheat account for 70.9% and 27.4% of the total grain produced, respectively. Considering that their farmers live on wheat and that their wheat selfsufficient rates are so low (13.9%), the three counties suffer serious shortages of wheat. In Luochuan County, the per capita grain yield is only 100 kg, the grain self-sufficiency rate is 25% and corn is the main grain produced, accounting for 96.4% of the total grain yield. Therefore, the wheat self-sufficiency rate is lower than 1%, meaning that farmers have to purchase almost all the wheat that they need. In Changwu County, the per capita grain yield is 217 kg, the grain self-sufficiency rate is 54%, maize and wheat Table 1. Per capita grain yields and the self-sufficiency rates of grain and grain components in the study area. Luochuan Changwu Baishui Item County County County Average Per capita grain yield (kg) Self-sufficiency rate of grain Percentage of maize yield in total grain yield Percentage of wheat yield in total yield Percentage of other grains in yield account for 40.9% and 58.5% of the total grain yield, respectively, so that the wheat self-sufficiency rate is only 31%. In Baishui County, the per capita grain yield is higher, at 296 kg, the grain self-sufficiency rate is 74%. Corn and wheat account for 75.3% and 23% of the grain produced, respectively, so that the wheat self-sufficiency rate is lower (17%), and farmers still need to purchase grain to meet their consumption. Other crops, mainly soybeans and minor grain crops, cover small areas of arable land and their yields make up only 3.7% of total grain production. Influence of fruit production on grain distribution and storage These three counties practice a single arable cropping system that mainly involves wheat, maize and soybean. Wheat is the staple food and farmers also need to purchase rice, which is not grown locally. Approximately 82% of grain consumption is met by grain imported from other regions, with all the extra costs incurred for distribution and transport. Most of the maize and soybean grown goes to market and only small quantities are used for food locally. For example, 83.53% of the total maize production goes to market, 15.4% is used as fodder and the small remainder is used as food (Table 2). There is insufficient bulk grain storage in the area and household grain storage capacity has decreased sharply, mainly because the increase in grain yield per area cannot compensate for the decreased grain cropping area as a result of land-use changes. Rural households no longer store sufficient or surplus grain as before, farmers now believing that that money is grain and the solution is to buy it not grow it and store it. In Luochuan County, which suffers an extreme grain shortage, purchased grain, mainly in the form of wheat flour and rice, accounts for 99% of the total grain consumption. In Changwu and Baishui counties, purchased grain, which includes wheat, wheat seeds and maize seeds from the Guanzhong irrigation area (central Shaanxi), accounts for 67% and 80% of total grain consumption, respectively.

7 512 J. Li and Z. Shangguan Table 2. Grain distribution and storage in the study area. Luochuan Changwu Baishui Item County County County Average Purchased grain Maize on market Maize as fodder Households with grain storage Number of days consumption that can be supported by stored grain Consumption & Income (kg, thousand RMB) Luochuan County Changwu County Baishui County Meat Eggs Milk Edible oil Net income Figure 6. Food consumption and per capita net income in the study area in In early 2008, an average of 21.77% of farmers did not have surplus grain stored at home and thus had to buy grain to meet their annual consumption requirements. In Luochuan County, only 1% of farmers had grain in storage, but in Changwu and Baishui counties, 38.4% and 26% of households had stored grain. Grain inventory is an important indicator in assessing food security. According to our household surveys, the stored grain in Luochuan County houses was only sufficient to meet a single day s consumption. In Changwu and Baishui counties the stores were sufficient for 50 and 25 days consumption, respectively. In the three counties, the average security reserve rate was only 6.8% of the current annual grain consumption, far below the security cordon rate (17 18%) required by the FAO (FAO 2006). Good grain distribution and storage clearly play an important role in safeguarding food security in these counties. In addition, there were serious shortages of grain reserves for local consumption in township (town) and county granaries. The grain reserves do not reach the minimum required standards and farmers rarely have grain in storage for use as food in the event of a natural disaster, which may occur over a large area or last long enough to disrupt grain storage and distribution. Influence of fruit production on grain consumption structure and income The main foods consumed in farm households are grain, vegetables, meat, eggs, milk, edible oil, etc., and the amount of meat, eggs, milk and edible oil consumed is the standard measure of the farmers standard of living. The per capita food consumption and farmers net income is highest in Luochuan County (Figure 6), followed by Changwu County, with the lowest in Baishui County. The average per capita net income in the three counties is 3667 RMB, higher than the 3136 RMB average for Shaanxi overall (Statistical Bureau of Shaanxi 2008). The percentages of agricultural land under orchards in the three counties are 80%, 57% and 40% (Figure 5), respectively, such that the more orchards there are, the higher the income and the living standard. Thus orchards are a key factor in raising the standard of living and income of farmers. According to the study interviews, most of the farmers live on wheat and vegetables, and their consumption of other foods depends mainly on their income. In Changwu and Baishui counties, only a very small number of farmers can afford to drink milk every day and most of them have never tasted milk. A larger proportion of farmers consume meat, eggs and milk in Luochuan County than in the other counties. The study area is a typical dry farmland area where industry is underdeveloped and farmers income depends mainly on grain crop planting and orchards. In recent years, the government has increased its contribution to science and technology to support the fruit industry, and thus the economic efficiency of orchards is much higher than that of grain crop cultivation. Therefore, the farmers standard of living in fruit growing areas is better than in grain production areas, calling for further agriculture restructuring to redress the balance. Discussion Conversion of arable land to non-farming uses is inevitable in economic development. In west China, power plant construction, road construction, urbanisation, agriculture restructuring in the Western Development plan and the implementation of the GGP have required conversion of large areas of high-quality arable land (He et al. 2005; Liu et al. 2005), resulting in a sharp reduction in the amount of arable land in recent years. Maintaining the quantity and quality of arable land has become an important challenge in ensuring food security. The trend for arable land conversion to non-farming uses will likely continue in the future. Shaanxi is a key GGP area, particularly in its northern part. In the 10 years after implementation of the GGP, it has improved its ecological environment considerably (Cao et al. 2009), but reduced its arable land area as a consequence. In promoting orchard planting for nearly 30 years, Shaanxi has developed its regional economy, but

8 International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 513 has converted large areas of arable land to other uses. The government of the province has taken measures to conserve arable land and control its use for construction. But, in order to solve its three rural issues and develop its rural economy, it will have to encourage the conversion of even more arable land into cost-effective orchards. This agricultural restructuring is not only government policy, but also what farmers want. In order to develop the local economy, the government provides measures such as macro-control policies, grain and agricultural subsidies and improved fruit planting techniques. These encourage farmers to convert their arable land, and the apple industry has become a major contributor to the local economy and to household income, particularly in the Weibei highlands region. This region is very suitable for apple growing and it is natural that farmers there hope to improve their standard of living by converting arable land to orchards. Because crop yield and economic return are the farmers primary concern, low crop yields supported by agricultural subsidies cannot encourage them to grow grain crops and, consequently, apple planting becomes their preferred means of increasing their income. In recent years, because farming is profit-oriented, migrant workers have commanded higher incomes, labour costs have risen and grain production efficiency is even lower, reducing still further farmers interest in grain production. In the Weibei highlands region, because of frequent natural disasters, extreme shortage of water, poor crop resistance and low scientific and technological inputs, bumper grain harvests depend largely on natural conditions, while the fruit industry develops by leaps and bounds. Agricultural restructuring has little or no significant effect on household grain security, but it is a threat to regional and national food security. In the study area, 59% of the arable land had been converted into orchards following agricultural restructuring (Figure 5). Conversion of arable land directly affected grain production in the area. Although the grain self-sufficiency rate is 51% (Table 1) and the self-sufficiency rate in staple foods is only 13.9%, farmers can purchase the grain they need at any time or place to ensure their own household food security because of grain market liberalisation, a healthy grain distribution system and stable national grain production. However, household food security is not equivalent to national food security, although the former, micro-level, food security does form the basis for national or regional food security. In fruit-producing areas, farmers ensure their household grain security through grain purchase rather than production. They therefore need a grain supply from a stable, sustainable grain production base as a prerequisite. Household food security is regional and one-dimensional, liable to be guaranteed, but this does not mean that national food security follows. The latter is at a macro level, which is comprehensive and extensive, and demands adequate grain production to ensure that anyone can afford to buy the grain they need at any time and place. In Luochuan County, where the grain self-sufficiency rate is 25% and the self-sufficiency rate in staple foods is below 1%, it is not difficult to purchase grain, and on the contrary, it is convenient to buy any food type. In general, farmers are unwilling to store grain because of limited grain production and high storage costs. In Luochuan County, only 1% of households have grain in storage (Table 2). The farmers there ignore the risks of low food security and if large-scale crop failures occur or the grain distribution systems are impaired, they will be overwhelmed and become the first victims of grain shortages. Although the orchards and fruit industry have made a great contribution to developing local economies and improving farmers standard of living in rural areas, they have had a negative impact on regional food security. The per capita arable land area of fruit farmers is less than ha, far below the FAO cordon of 0.53 ha, and this in an area where dry farming is practised and natural conditions are often unfavourable. Consequently, grain yields depend mainly on the weather and a potential food security crisis is easy to imagine. Because of rapid arable land conversion, grain production has declined sharply, resulting in a grain self-sufficiency rate of 51% in fruit-growing areas, lower than the national average of 95%, and a per capita grain yield of 204 kg, lower than the food security cordon of 400 kg (Liu 2004; Ding 2008). The FAO requires that security reserve rates should not fall below 17 18% of the current annual grain consumption, but in this study area the security reserve rate is only 6.8%, far below the security cordon required. In conclusion, following the development of fruit production, growing areas develop extremely poor food security, with per capita grain, per capita arable land, grain self-sufficiency ratio and grain reserves well below the commonly accepted food security cordons. Acknowledgements The study presented in this article was financially supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Projects of China (2007CB407203) and the Key Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX1-YW-12) and Forest Commonwealth Projects ( ). References Borlaug N Feeding a hungry world. Science. 318:359. Braimoh AK Agricultural land-use change during economic reforms in Ghana. Land Use Policy. 26: Brown LR Who will feed China: wake-up call for a small planet. Washington (DC): Island Press; p Cao SX, Li C, Yu XX Impact of China s Grain for Green Project on the landscape of vulnerable arid and semiarid agricultural regions: a case study in northern Shaanxi Province. J Appl Ecol. 46(5):36 43 (in Chabot P, Dorosh PA Wheat markets, food aid and food security in Afghanistan. Food Policy. 32: Chen J Rapid urbanization in China: a real challenge to soil protection and food security. Catena. 69(1): 1 15.

9 514 J. Li and Z. Shangguan Chen JF, Wei SQ, Chang KT, Tsai BW A comparative case study of cultivated land changes in Fujian and Taiwan. Land Use Policy. 24: Ding SH Present food security: evaluation, comparison and suggestion. Finance Trade Econ. 9: (in Erik L, Ding CR Assessing farmland protection policy in China. Land Use Policy. 25: [FAO] Food and Agriculture Organisation The state of food and agriculture: paying farmers for environmental service. Rome (Italy): FAO. [FAO] Food and Agriculture Organisation The state of food and agriculture: paying farmers for environmental services. Rome (Italy): FAO. Feng ZM, Shi DF Chinese food consumption and nourishment in the latest 20 years. Res Sci. 28(1):1 7 (in Feng ZM, Yang YZ, Zhang YQ, Zhang PT, Li YQ Grainfor-green policy and its impacts on grain supply in West China. Land Use Policy. 22: GOVnet The development of apple industry in Shaanxi. [Internet]. Government of Shaanxi Province: Statistical Communique; [cited 2009 Dec 12]. Available from: He CY, Li JG, Wang YY, Shi PJ, Chen J, Pan YZ Understanding cultivated land dynamics and its driving forces in northern China during J Geog Sci. 4: Huang JK, Pray C, Rozelle S Enhancing the crops to feed the poor. Nature. 418: Johnsen S The redefinition of family farming: agricultural restructuring and farm adjustment in Waihemo, New Zealand. J Rural Stud. 20: Li ZS Protected arable land, improved yield, saved consumption thoughts on China s food production and consumption. QiuShi. 6:34 37 (in Liu XM A discussion on systematic evaluation indicators for food security. Finance Trade Econ. 9:56 61 (in Liu YH, Wang JF, Liu ML, Meng B Driving forces of cultivated land change in China. Sci China Series D. 35(11): (in Lobell DB, Asner GP Climate and management contributions to recent trends in U.S. agricultural yields. Science. 14:1032. Ma XH, Lan HT Comprehensive grain production capacity and food security in China. Beijing (China): Economic Science Press; p (in Morgan ER, Torgerson PR, Shaikenov BS, Usenbayev AE, Moore AB, Medley GF, Milner-Gulland EJ Agricultural restructuring and gastrointestinal parasitism in domestic ruminants on the rangelands of Kazakhstan. Vet Parasitol. 139: Shangguan ZP, Peng KS, Peng L, Wang LC Research into food production and sustainable development in the Loess Plateau. Xi an (China): Shaanxi People s Publishing House (in Statistical Bureau of Luochuan Luochuan statistical yearbook. Luochuan (China): Luochuan Statistical Press (in Statistical Bureau of Shaanxi Shaanxi statistical yearbook. Beijing (China): China Statistical Press (in Wang T, Zheng CF, Li WF The empirical analysis of major affecting factors on China s food production. Stat Obs. 20:95 97 (in Ye JZ, An M Sociological analysis of agricultural production and food security. Issues Agric Econ. 6:8 13 (in Yi LJ, Hao RB Discussion on the loss situation of China s arable land resources and the main influencing factors in China. J Agric Mechanization Res. 12:1 4 (in Yi P, Duan YC Dynamic analysis of influencing factors on China s grain production. Rural Econ. 1:35 39 (in Zhen L, Cao SY, Cheng SK, Xie GD, Wei YJ, Liu XL, Li F Arable land requirements based on food consumption patterns: case study in rural Guyuan District, Western China. Ecol Econ. 10:1 16. Zhou ZC, Gan ZT, Shangguan ZP, Dong ZB China s Grain for Green Program has reduced soil erosion in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the middle reaches of the Yellow River. Int J Sustain Dev World Ecol. 16(4):