by Sylvan Wittwer, Yu Youtai, Sun Han, and Wang Lianzheng
The American farmer is number one in crops produced per farmer; the Chinese farmer is number one in crops produced per unit of land. Americans "farm;" the Chinese "garden." American farming is highly automated and dependent on capital and resources; Chinese farming is labor intensive and sparing of natural resources. Both the Americans and the Chinese can and should learn from each other. These are a few of the conclusions reached in Feeding a Billion, a collaborative work by American and Chinese scientists.
China today is feeding over a billion people (22 percent of the world's population) on only 7 percent of the earth's arable land. Fully 80 percent of the Chinese people are involved in this endeavor. A 60 percent overall increase in food production in China since 1979 is remarkable by any standard. This increase was achieved not just by more rice and wheat, but by crop diversification; it was achieved not only by more fertilizer, but by the acceptance of many new technologies; it was achieved not by the collective farms, but by millions of individual farm families.
In 1982 at the 12th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, it was announced as a Party goal to increase the total output value in industry and agriculture four times. This goal has become a strong, driving force for the Chinese people. There can be little doubt that Chinese agriculture will be increased fourfold. It is even possible to think that China will not only feed a billion, but that it will also become a major exporter of agricultural products.
For one of the oldest, largest, and most primitive of agricultural systems, what has happened in China within less than a decade may be recognized as one of the most striking examples of agricultural development the world has ever known. It could server as a model to be emulated in other societies.