Can Arable Land Alone Ensure Food Security? The Concept of Arable Land Equivalent Unit and Its Implications in Zhoushan City, China

Yongzhong Tan,Ju He,Zhenning Yu,Yonghua Tan

doi:10.3390/su10041024

Abstract

The requisition–compensation balance of farmlands (RCBF) is a strict Chinese policy that aims to ensure food security. However, the process of supplementing arable land has substantially damaged the ecological environment through the blind development of grasslands, woodlands, and wetlands to supplement arable land. Can arable land alone ensure food security? To answer this question, this study introduced the concepts of arable land equivalent unit (ALEU) and food equivalent unit (FEU) based on the idea of food security. Zhoushan City in Zhejiang Province, China was selected as the research area. This study analyzed the ALEU supply and demand capabilities in the study area and presented the corresponding policy implications for the RCBF improvement. The results showed that the proportion of ALEU from arable land and waters for aquaculture is from 46:54 in 2009 to 31:69 in 2015, thereby suggesting that aquaculture waters can also be important in food security. Under three different living standards (i.e., adequate food and clothing, well-off, and affluence), ALEU from arable land can barely meet the needs of the permanent resident population in the study area. However, ALEU from aquaculture waters can provide important supplementation. Therefore, we suggest that food supply capability from land types other than the arable land be taken seriously. Furthermore, RCBF can be improved with ALEU as core of the balance.

Highlights

Arable lands are the type of lands capable to be ploughed and are critical for grain production [1]
The food supply capability of arable land is important based on the guiding ideology of food security that specifies that the grain is self-sufficient and that the ration is absolutely safe
In 2009, the area sown with grain crops within the study area was 1.252 × 104 hm2, which decreased to 6.12 × 103 hm2 in 2014

Summary

Introduction

Arable lands are the type of lands capable to be ploughed and are critical for grain production [1]. Maintaining a certain extent of arable land is the basis and guarantee for food security in many countries. The Chinese government ascribes immense importance to the protection of arable land. One of the most important objectives of China’s implementation of RCBF is to ensure grain security, which is the same as food security defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, Rome, Italy). China’s successful achievement of grain security in recent decades has resulted in serious damage to the environment upstream of the agricultural sector, on farm and downstream [3]. The concept of food security may not be applicable to China, since China’s economy has developed rapidly. Animal husbandry and aquaculture are important sources of food supply [6]

Methods

Results

Conclusion