Abstract
AbstractAchieving food and feed self‐sufficiency is important for both China and the world. While China's food self‐sufficiency has been examined at the national and provincial levels, few studies consider lower administrative levels or different food and feed items. This study quantifies self‐sufficiency in the eastern regions of China and examines correlations with agronomic (arable area, yield, fertilizer input, and machinery power) and socioeconomic (population density, gross domestic product [GDP]) variables at the local level, which are related to the interactions of the Sustainable Development Goals. We calculated food and feed balances, and checked correlations across and within regions grouped by population density levels between production, balance indices, and other agronomic and socioeconomic variables. The results showed that most regions can achieve self‐sufficiency in cereals, vegetables, and meat. Regarding eggs and maize, there was self‐sufficiency in the north but deficiency in the south. Nearly all regions demonstrated extreme shortages of milk and soybeans. The results also showed a positive correlation between the production of some food commodities and the population in eastern regions of China, demonstrating that the aim of achieving food self‐sufficiency at the local level is pursued. For cereals, vegetables, and maize, the yield and arable land per capita were positive factors for self‐sufficiency, while GDP per capita was a negative factor for cereals, meat, and maize. Various factors have different impacts on the food and feed self‐sufficiency of regions based on population density. Protecting arable land by rural revitalization and mitigating urban sprawl can retain food and feed self‐sufficiency in large cities. This study outlines important implications for policymakers seeking to achieve food and feed self‐sufficiency in China.
Highlights
Ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture, which are the aims of the second Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-2 ) (Gil et al, 2019), constitute challenges both today and in the future
This study investigates the eastern regions of China because this area contains the majority of the Chinese population, and the basic unit of investigation is the region, which is the administrative level below the province; this could provide scientific insights regarding food sovereignty, which is on the agenda of many countries
In response to this study's first aim, our analysis showed that self- sufficiency is not evenly achieved in all regions of eastern China
Summary
CLAND; French state aid managed by the ANR under the "Investissements d'avenir" programme, Grant/Award Number: ANR-16-CONV-0003; Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Grant/Award Number: XDA19040303 and XDA23050102; UCAS Joint Ph.D. Training Program; Key Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Grant/ Award Number: KFZD-SW-113
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