National Cultivated Land Quality Grade Bulletin released by the Ministry of Agriculture

Report from this website  “All things grow from soil, and with soil there is grain”. Cultivated land is the most precious agricultural resource and an important factor of production. How is its quality? It bears on the output capacity of grain and agriculture. Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture released the "Bulletin on National Cultivated Land Quality Grades" (hereinafter referred to as the "Bulletin") to guide all localities in providing classified guidance, advancing by stages, and strengthening cultivated land quality construction.

According to the "Bulletin", the quality grades of the nation's 1.826 billion mu of cultivated land (pre-Second National Land Survey land data) are divided from high to low into grades one to ten. Among them, cultivated land rated grades one to three covers an area of 498 million mu, accounting for 27.3% of the total cultivated land area. This part of the cultivated land has relatively high basic soil fertility and basically has no obstacle factors, and agricultural production should be carried out in a way that combines use and maintenance to ensure that cultivated land quality rises steadily. Cultivated land rated grades four to six covers an area of 818 million mu, accounting for 44.8% of the total cultivated land area. The environmental and climatic conditions of this part of the cultivated land are basically suitable, farmland infrastructure construction has a certain foundation, and obstacle factors are not obvious, making it a key area and important breakthrough for future grain production increases. By 2020, based on an estimated average increase of 1 grade in basic soil fertility of cultivated land, an additional comprehensive grain production capacity of more than 160 billion jin could be achieved. Cultivated land rated grades seven to ten covers an area of 510 million mu, accounting for 27.9% of the total cultivated land area. This part of the cultivated land has relatively poor basic soil fertility and prominent production obstacle factors, is difficult to fundamentally improve in a short time, and should continue to carry out farmland infrastructure and intrinsic cultivated land quality construction. At the same time, the "Bulletin" also analyzes the cultivated land quality conditions of nine regions, including Northeast China, Inner Mongolia and along the Great Wall, the Huang-Huai-Hai region, the Loess Plateau, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Southwest China, South China, the Gansu-Xinjiang region, and the Qinghai-Tibet region, based on the national comprehensive agricultural regionalization, and separately describes the cultivated land quality grades and main production obstacle factors of each region.

According to the relevant responsible comrade of the Department of Crop Production Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, starting in 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture launched cultivated land fertility investigation and quality evaluation work nationwide. Based on the "Technical Regulations for Cultivated Land Fertility Investigation and Quality Evaluation" (NY/T 1634-2008) and the "National Cultivated Land Type Areas and Cultivated Land Fertility Grade Classification" (NY/T309-1996), and using map spots formed by overlaying cultivated land soil maps, land use status maps, and administrative division maps as evaluation units, the cultivated land fertility level was comprehensively evaluated from aspects such as site conditions, plow layer physical and chemical properties, soil management, obstacle factors, and soil profile characteristics. From 2013 to 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture organized forces to summarize and analyze the results of the national cultivated land fertility investigation and quality evaluation, incorporate the cultivated land fertility levels of each county (district, city, banner, regiment, farm) into the nationally unified cultivated land quality grade system, and classify the quantity and distribution of cultivated land in grades one to ten. In October 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture commissioned the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Agricultural University, and other research, teaching, and extension units to form an expert group to fully demonstrate the results of the national cultivated land quality grades. The experts believed that the method for classifying national cultivated land quality grades was reasonable, the basis was sufficient, and the content was consistent with the actual agricultural production of each region. Releasing the results of national cultivated land quality grades is, after the second national soil survey in the 1980s, the most important basic work in national cultivated land quality construction and management. It is conducive to comprehensively reflecting the cultivated land quality conditions of each region, the main existing obstacle factors, and the impact on agricultural production, and provides a scientific basis for all localities to carry out targeted cultivated land quality construction, designate permanent basic farmland, and carry out quality acceptance of supplementary cultivated land for the balance of occupation and compensation. At the same time, releasing the results of national cultivated land quality grades is also conducive to the public understanding of the current status of China's cultivated land quality, raising attention to cultivated land quality issues, and creating a good atmosphere in which the whole society supports cultivated land quality protection.

The relevant responsible comrade of the Department of Crop Production Management of the Ministry of Agriculture stated that managing cultivated land quality according to law and strengthening cultivated land quality construction and management are important duties of agricultural departments. Next, the Ministry of Agriculture will, based on the results of national cultivated land quality grade classification, promote the launch of the “Cultivated Land Quality Protection and Improvement Action”, vigorously implement measures such as fertility cultivation, soil improvement, nutrient balance, and quality restoration, focus on improving cultivated land quality, and continuously consolidate the long-term foundation of grain and agricultural production. At the same time, it will promptly formulate the "Regulations on Cultivated Land Quality Protection" and accelerate the establishment and improvement of a long-term mechanism for cultivated land quality protection. It will continuously improve the three major monitoring networks for cultivated land quality, soil moisture, and fertilizer efficiency, build a four-level cultivated land quality monitoring and early warning system at the national, provincial, municipal, and county levels, and regularly release information on dynamic changes in cultivated land quality.