Increased Investments in Chinese Agriculture
In March 2009, China announced it would increase spending on agricultural production by 20 percent amid warnings of harmful effects of climate change, food shortages and food crises. As a central part of his annual budget speech at the Great Hall of the People Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's said an extra 121 billion yuan ($20 billion bn) would be spent on boosting farm yields and raising rural incomes.
The government's spending aimed to boost overall domestic consumption with a strong emphasis on intensive agriculture. The short-term aim is to ease the impact of the economic crisis on rural dwellers and reduce sources of social instability and increase grain prices as an incentive for farmers to produce more[...]
Traditional China Agriculture
The history of agriculture in China has been one of constantly improving crop yields through innovations, improvements in techniques and intensification. The resulting surpluses have allowed the population to grow.
In late imperial times the agricultural land in the north was worked by people who owned the land while the land in the south was owned by landlords who didn't work the land themselves. Peasant who worked the land either paid for use of the land with a share of their harvest, a fixed rent in crops or a fixed rent in cash. It was more of commercial arrangement than a feudal one.[...]
Irrigation, Water and Agriculture in China
Agriculture and irrigation account for large amounts of all water use. Water for irrigation can from wells, rivers, canals, lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Often dams are built to supply water for irrigation. There is 545,960 square kilometers of irrigated land in China. Forty percent of China's crop land is irrigated, compared to 23 percent in India. The average yield per acre in China is double that of India. Pumps are important for irrigation. In the old days water wheels and manual labor were needed to lift water from wells, rivers, canals and ponds to agricultural land. Now gasoline- and diesel-powered pumps do much of the work. Pumps may be noisy but are a relatively cheap and efficient. Foot-powered pumps, using a 2000-year-old design are [...]
In March 2009, China announced it would increase spending on agricultural production by 20 percent amid warnings of harmful effects of climate change, food shortages and food crises. As a central part of his annual budget speech at the Great Hall of the People Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's said an extra 121 billion yuan ($20 billion bn) would be spent on boosting farm yields and raising rural incomes.
The government's spending aimed to boost overall domestic consumption with a strong emphasis on intensive agriculture. The short-term aim is to ease the impact of the economic crisis on rural dwellers and reduce sources of social instability and increase grain prices as an incentive for farmers to produce more[...]
Traditional China Agriculture
The history of agriculture in China has been one of constantly improving crop yields through innovations, improvements in techniques and intensification. The resulting surpluses have allowed the population to grow.
In late imperial times the agricultural land in the north was worked by people who owned the land while the land in the south was owned by landlords who didn't work the land themselves. Peasant who worked the land either paid for use of the land with a share of their harvest, a fixed rent in crops or a fixed rent in cash. It was more of commercial arrangement than a feudal one.[...]
Irrigation, Water and Agriculture in China
Agriculture and irrigation account for large amounts of all water use. Water for irrigation can from wells, rivers, canals, lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Often dams are built to supply water for irrigation. There is 545,960 square kilometers of irrigated land in China. Forty percent of China's crop land is irrigated, compared to 23 percent in India. The average yield per acre in China is double that of India. Pumps are important for irrigation. In the old days water wheels and manual labor were needed to lift water from wells, rivers, canals and ponds to agricultural land. Now gasoline- and diesel-powered pumps do much of the work. Pumps may be noisy but are a relatively cheap and efficient. Foot-powered pumps, using a 2000-year-old design are [...]