China's Quest for Food Security Challenges and Policies

Abstract

Darwinism believes in the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ and thereby, ‘food’ is the essence of the survival of mankind. The lack of availability of food to the rising world population has made ‘food’ a global security concern. In this context, for China, the challenge seems to be grave in terms of meeting the food demands of its rapidly increasing population amidst the gradual decline in its agricultural self-sufficiency with its increasing economic development. The primary challenge for Chinese Government is that of ‘how China can make food a secure commodity’, and so, the top policy priority for the current Chinese Government is that of maintaining food security. China’s policy of ‘Self-Sufficiency’ is thereby, faced with the threat of dependency. In this context, the present article introduces the problem of food security in China based on the available data. It examines the causal factors and analyses China’s concerns and the policies to solve the food predicament.