Stepping stones towards sustainable agriculture in China An overview of challenges, policies and responses Andreas Wilkes and Lanying Zhang Country Report Food and agriculture Keywords: March 2016 China, agriculture, agricultural policies, sustainability, food systems About the authors Andreas Wilkes, Director, Values for development Ltd (
[email protected]) Lanying Zhang, Executive Deputy Dean, Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Southwest University, Chongqing, China (
[email protected]) Produced by IIED’s Natural Resources Group The aim of the Natural Resources Group is to build partnerships, capacity and wise decision-making for fair and sustainable use of natural resources. Our priority in pursuing this purpose is on local control and management of natural resources and other ecosystems. Acknowledgements The authors thank Seth Cook and Barbara Adolph of IIED for comments on drafts of this report, and participants in the workshop on Sustainable Agricultural Development and Cooperation held in Beijing on 20th March 2015. Published by IIED, March 2016 Wilkes, A and Zhang, L (2016) Stepping stones towards sustainable agriculture in China: an overview of challenges, policies and responses. IIED, London. http://pubs.iied.org/14662IIED ISBN: 978-1-78431-325-8 International Institute for Environment and Development 80-86 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8NH, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 3463 7399 Fax: +44 (0)20 3514 9055 email:
[email protected] www.iied.org @iied www.facebook.com/theIIED Download more publications at www.iied.org/pubs COUNTRY REPORT In only a few decades, agriculture in China has evolved from a diverse “agriculture without waste” to one involving specialised, high-external input, resource-intensive, commercially-oriented models.