Country experience: Countering climate change in the agriculture sector in China
The Chinese government’s agricultural countermeasures against climate change are largely divided into green-
house gas mitigation and adaptation.
The mitigation strategies entail:
• popularizing of low carbon-emitting, multi-harvesting rice varieties and half-drought type cultivation
techniques;
• adopting efficient irrigation methods and soil-specific fertilization techniques;
• researching and developing high-quality ruminant breeding technology and stockbreeding management
technologies;
• strengthening the management of animal excrement, wastewater and solid wastes;
• improving the efficiency of methane use; and controlling methane emissions.
Adaptation means entail:
• strengthening the measured forecast level for extreme meteorological disasters by supplementing the
measured forecast emergency action mechanism, the multi-department decision-making mechanism and
ensuring a comprehensive community-involvement mechanism in provisions against various disasters;
• establishing a meteorological disaster defence process (by 2010) that has an essential role in securing the
society;
• improving the comprehensive measured forecast level, defence level and disaster-mitigation capacity to
cope with extreme meteorological disasters;
• forming 24 million ha of new grassland and clearing 55 million ha of degraded, desertificated and/or alkali
grasslands (by 2010) by strengthening farmland construction, cultivation system adjustments, resistant- variety
selection and development, and biotechnology development.
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In terms of climate change adaptation policies, the Chinese Government has enacted the Agriculture Act, the
Grassland Act, the Fisheries Act, the Land Management Act, an Ordinance on Emergency Measures Against
Sudden Critical Animal Epidemic and an Ordinance on Pasture Fire Prevention. The Government has made
efforts to supplement the political and regulatory system for the agricultural sector’s adaptation to climate
change. In addition, it has strengthened agricultural infrastructure, promoted the construction of farmland irriga
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tion systems, expanded the irrigated agricultural area and improved irrigation efficiency. Additionally, the Gov
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ernment has popularized water-saving technology for hardy crops, enhanced the agricultural disaster preven
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tion and reduction capacity, and developed crop varieties that can endure high temperature, blight and pests.
In the future, the Chinese Government will further popularize high-quality crop varieties and increase their cover
-
age. Also, it will strengthen the prevention of critical animal epidemics.
Source: Chang-Gil Kim,
The Impact of Climate Change on the Agricultural Sector: Implications of the Agro-Industry for Low Carbon, Green
Growth Strategy and Roadmap for the East Asian Region
, Consultant report (Bangkok, UNESCAP, 2011).
