Growing population, industrialization and rapid economic growth are putting unprecedented pressure on China’s agriculture resources, and have become a threat to food security in the country and the world. According to China’s national land survey figures released recently, total arable land in the country stood at around 135.4 million hectares at the end of 2012. This is still about 15.4 million hectares above the “red line” of a minimum 120 million hectares earmarked to ensure food security in China. However, pollution of land and water are eroding agriculture land in China. Coupled with increasing population, China’s per capita arable area now stands at around 0.1 hectare, almost half of the global average of around 0.2 hectare. According to government officials in China, it was found from the survey that about 3 million hectares of land is now unsuitable for rice cultivation due to heavy contamination by poisonous heavy metals […]