Intro: Last year, China released its new Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for 2035. Below is an excerpt from this document, click here to read full version of this strategy.
Optimize the utilization pattern of agro-climatic resource. Dynamic assessment and refined zoning of agro-climatic resources should be carried out to optimize the industrial layout, cropping structures, and crop variety configuration and adjust the trade patterns of agricultural products. In mid- and high-latitude zones, it is necessary to increase the multiple cropping index appropriately and extend the cultivation of thermophilic crops to the north to adjust the maturity of crop species; in the low-latitude zones, it is necessary to expand the scale of winter sowing to fully exploit the potential of agricultural production. We should select and breed high-yielding, high-quality and stress-resistant crops, livestock, poultry, and aquatic products, as well as adaptable varieties of forestry, fruits, flowers, and grasses. Climate-friendly and low-carbon agricultural product certification should be launched and local agricultural products of geographical indications should be developed to increase farmers’ incomes.
Reinforce a work system that adapts to changes and reduces agricultural disasters. In response to arising agricultural disasters and hazards caused by extreme weather and climate events such as droughts, floods, freezing temperatures, heatwaves, and wind-driven hail, we need to strengthen the monitoring, early-warning, and response mechanisms for disasters and improve disaster-diagnosis techniques and standards. Region-specific, disaster-specific, and variety-based disaster reduction plans should be made to improve protection standards and heighten preparedness against disasters. We need to develop intelligent drainage and irrigation for farmlands, climate-adapted crops, the planting of adaptable forest and fruits, and healthy breeding technology systems for livestock, poultry, and aquatic products, as well as promote water-saving irrigation, dry farming, drought-resistance and soil-moisture preservation, flooded fields drainage, and other adaptive approaches to agriculture. Agricultural producers and operators should be trained in disaster prevention and reduction as well as adaptive technologies.
Enhance the climate resilience of agricultural ecosystems. Ecology should be the priority for agricultural development—including strengthening soil and water conservation and ecological protection, promoting conservative farming wherever suitable, developing agroforestry and hilly areas “3D farming”, and encouraging reasonable row intercropping and relay intercropping. In accordance with ecological changes and new pests and diseases caused by climate change, we need to improve pesticide efficiency while reducing its dosage, while implementing integrated prevention and control technology and green control technology. It is also necessary to control invasive alien species and protect agricultural biodiversity. Fertilizers should be made more efficient at lower volumes, and scientific fertilization techniques should be promoted. As for farmland quality, action plans need to be implemented for farmland protection and improvement of quality, increasing the organic matter in soil, and improving soil fertility. We need to accelerate the construction of germplasm resource protection bases and seed banks to protect endangered agricultural animal and plant species. We should also protect our traditional agricultural cultural heritage, optimize the design of farmlands, and enhance the functions of agricultural ecosystems.
Establish a climate-adaptable food security system. We should implement the strategies of “securing agricultural production by scientific land use” and “technology-based modern agricultural production” and adjust the layout of agricultural infrastructure construction according to the changes of spatial and temporal distribution of agro-climatic resources and climate-related disasters. We should also establish a system for monitoring and forecasting supply and demand, and risk assessment of grain yields and production potentials in main agricultural production areas at home and abroad. As for enhancing farmland protection and quality construction, it is necessary to adhere to the red line of 1.8 billion mu of farmland, adopt the strictest farmland protection system, strengthen controls over farmland use, and implement special protection for permanent basic farmlands. We should also promote high-standard farmlands, with the aim of having 1.075 billion mu of high-standard farmlands by 2025. Climate-smart agriculture should be energetically developed to improve agricultural production capacity. We need to enhance technological innovation for agricultural climate adaptability to realize breakthroughs in revolutionary technology for agricultural climate change adaptation and build demonstration bases for climate change adaptation technologies in major agricultural production areas. We also need to improve the meteorological system and risk-sharing mechanisms for agriculture, - 28 - including the promotion of weather index insurance and exploring the mechanism of agricultural catastrophe insurance.
Special Actions of Climate Change Adaptation in the Agriculture andFood Systems
Demonstration of agricultural climate change adaptation technologies: By 2025,national demonstration bases will be set up for the crop-farming industry in areas that aresensitive and vulnerable to climate change by drawing on construction of nationalagricultural high-tech industry demonstration zones and national modern agriculturalscience and technology demonstration bases. By 2035, a number of national technologydemonstration bases will be set up for the farming, forestry, husbandry, fishing, and poultryraising industries guided by the construction of national agricultural science andtechnology parks and national modern agricultural science, and technology demonstrationbases.
Climate-smart agriculture demonstration project: By 2025, a climate-smart cropfarming technology system will be primarily established, under which several pilot anddemonstration bases will be built in main food production areas in North China andNortheast China. By 2035, a complete and well-functioning climate-smart agriculturaltechnology system will be built and promoted, leading to agricultural advantagescountrywide.
Certification of climate-friendly and low-carbon agricultural products: By 2025,certification standards will be established for climate-friendly and low-carbon agriculturalproducts to fully demonstrate the synergistic effect of adaptation and mitigation. Pilots forthe certification of climate-friendly and low-carbon agricultural products will be launchedwith some high value-added cash crops, and leading brands will be created for excellentclimate-friendly and low-carbon agricultural products with local features in some keyagricultural counties and cities. By 2035, the certification work of climate-friendly and lowcarbon agricultural products will be comprehensively promoted.
