Excerpt
A look at soil and water conservation efforts in the People's Republic of China reveals a land in transition. Land and water management in China still depends upon labor-intensive, centuries-old practices. At the same time, the Chinese seem eager to learn about and adopt new science and technology for solving their resource-related problems.
The land and agriculture
China is slightly larger than the United States. But China's land area of 3.7 million square miles (9.6 million square kilometers) has a much higher proportion of hills, mountains, and hot, dry basins that are unsuitable for agriculture. About 11 percent of the country is under cultivation, compared with 17.5 percent of U.S. land, yet China's population of nearly 1 billion people is almost four times that of the United States. Fortunately, much of China is subtropical, making it possible to produce several crops a year.
Modernizing its agriculture is one of China's four major economic priorities. This modernization calls for improved crop varieties, plant protection, fertilizer and agricultural chemicals, irrigation, soil conservation, and water management. While more developed countries could assist China in making these improvements, it …
Footnotes
Paul M. Howard is deputy chief for Technology Development and Application, Soil Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Other members of a USDA team accompanying Howard on a recent tour of the People's Republic of China were Galen Bridge, assistant chief, SCS; Bill Brune, state conservationist, SCS, Iowa; Jack Davis, state conservationist, SCS, Connecticut; Jay M. Bagley, professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University; and James F. Power, soil scientist and research leader, Science and Education Administration—Agricultural Research, Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Copyright 1981 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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